


let fires wallow in smoke

by sieges



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Uchiha Sasuke, Canon Rewrite, Fluff and Angst, Gen, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Uchiha Sasuke, Post-Pein Arc, Redemption, Sporadic Updates, Uchiha Sasuke Returns to Konoha, Uchiha Sasuke-centric, Undercover Missions, in which half of shippuden is rewritten, jinchuuriki!sasuke, romance is: relatively minor in the bigger scheme of things, sasuke is close with his hawks, some slight ships hinted here and there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2020-10-11 20:38:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 27,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20552357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sieges/pseuds/sieges
Summary: The fight against Pein turns out a little differently with the arrival of someone completely unexpected. In an effort to save Sasuke’s life, Naruto seals half of Kurama’s chakra in his best friend. Now, Sasuke must not only deal with his unplanned return to Konoha, but also the fox inside his body that is anythingbutfond of him.AKA: Sasuke becomes the jinchuuriki of Kurama. He's not the only one unhappy about this predicament.





	1. into place

**Author's Note:**

> i've always loved the idea of a jinchuuriki!sasuke au, but there . like, aren't enough of it. or any for that matter??? or i just haven't found any, but i decided that i wanted to write my own take on it. and i just wanted to redo canon adding a few of my headcanons or info for the large untouched folklore the naruto universe has that kishimoto hasn't expanded on (which is a shame). my motivation to write this also came from repeatedly listening to kemu / IA's a tale of six trillion years and a night, except i wanted to make it more canon related than a complete au 
> 
> that being said, this is going to be a really big project of mine! i have lots of ideas for this fic and i've outlined how i wanted the entire story to go, and all that's left is just sitting down and getting to write it. that being said, i've just started uni and it's already pretty stressful, so let's hope i'll have time to work on this fic! i hope you guys will enjoy it hihi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’s been learning for the past five months that there’s a story behind everything, and he’s in the first page of every tale while everyone else is halfway through.

Here’s a lie that everybody acknowledges:

Sasuke was insane for defecting Konoha to follow the S-rank missing nin who murdered the Sandaime just to be able to kill Itachi. 

(It’s not exactly an invalid assumption. Orochimaru has a big flee on sight order for any shinobi, regardless of rank, if they’re younger than twenty-five. There’s a very good reason for that.)

But in the larger scheme of things, Sasuke knows what he’s doing. It’s risky, but the reality of the situation is this: Sasuke follows Orochimaru because he can give him the power he needs to kill Itachi. Since Orochimaru is weaker than Itachi, he basically gave Sasuke a way to kill him too, even if he thinks he’ll be able to take over Sasuke’s body before that even happens. He has access to Orochimaru in a way no other Konoha shinobi would. 

Sasuke’s not one known for his loyalty to his village, but it doesn’t mean he can’t do them a favor every once in a while, like eliminate one of their biggest threats. It helps that he wants to. There’s only so much “training” of Orochimaru that he can endure. 

Sasuke’s not _ insane _; he’s just an opportunist. Maybe it’s insane for him to think he can do it, kill the very man who murdered one of Konoha’s most powerful shinobi, but they underestimate Sasuke. Underestimate his anger, talent, and the patience that comes along with it when he wants to get something done efficiently. 

(The same strategy applies for Itachi, but the satisfaction of being able to kill him lasts for an hour. Then he wakes up in a dark cave where a masked man tells him how Itachi was everything everyone thought he stood against. Itachi died lying about his entire life, but he died content with his ending. There’s some kind of twisted irony in it all, and it’s enough to let Sasuke’s eyes bleed red and attempt to burn the man who tells him all this in black flames.

When Sasuke emerges, he stands on a rock and watches the sea through rose-tinted lenses and grieves. Thinks that he was right to leave Konoha, but now—

Now, he’s coming back.)

Here’s a truth that everybody acknowledges:

Naruto was certifiably insane for sealing the Kyuubi inside Sasuke, creating the first — and last — Uchiha jinchuuriki. 

(The reality is this: Naruto did it because he knew if there was _ anyone _ who could handle Kurama, it was Sasuke.)

⁂

All things considered, the Uchiha district is better off than most. Half-destroyed, but it doesn’t matter, because there hasn’t been anyone to live in it for years, and the only person still alive to live in it is— well, one. 

Sasuke’s never needed to take up so much space in the first place, and the last thing he wants is to make sentimentality a weakness. 

So it’s a good thing, that the compound is sort of gone. 

Sasuke is still in the process of fully accepting that. 

He’s had a week to settle back in the place where his parents were murdered, but he makes it a habit to stay anywhere _ but _there unless he needs to sleep. Even then, he tries occupying his nights at the Uchiha forest, training until he exhausts himself enough to pass out without much fanfare. There’s no such thing as finished when it comes to practicing, but he knows he needs to find other excuses to stay out of the house. The birds have already created a small nest for him made of the longest and biggest branches they could carry at the bottom of a tree, and tend to swarm his training area in the afternoon. Naoki had laughed at Sasuke when he found out, said that it was because the birds could tell when someone was one of their own. 

It’s already daybreak when he returns to his house, and to his surprise, Sakura is there waiting for him. She’s in civilian clothes, a simple yellow sundress with a green ribbon tied around her hair. Sasuke vaguely remembers the ribbon to be a gift from Ino, something Shikamaru said the blonde gave as a birthday present for Sakura’s fifteenth. It’s their thing— the ribbons. Naruto had been the one who gave the dress, sent from wherever the fuck he was during his two-year period traveling with Jiraiya. Sakura had been the one to tell him about that, a glint of something sad but bright in her eyes as she recounted the moment. 

Sasuke tries not to think too deeply about her getup. He’s been learning for the past five months that there’s a story behind everything, and he’s in the first page of every tale while everyone else is halfway through. 

From the once-over Sakura gives him, she knows she’s silently judging him for his haggard appearance. “You look like shit.” she says predictably, reaching out to pluck a leaf that stuck itself to his hair. 

In the start, she’d been reluctant to touch him, like she thought he’d tear her hand off the second her skin touched his even if she was doing it for his own good. It wasn’t really a big deal, because it wasn’t like he couldn’t patch himself up. Sakura was preoccupied anyway, being one of the best medics out there, and half the village needed medical attention. If there was one less patient to be worried about, then the better. 

Now she doesn’t hesitate, easygoing with her touch the same way she is with Naruto— sometimes to the point of a little _ too much _. Sasuke would pull away and hate it if not for the fact that it signifies how she’s over her stupid childhood crush on him, because she treats him less like he’s some ideal and more like a person. 

(He also realizes that some part within him needs it. People don’t look at him the same way since he came back, and even though he deserves it, it doesn’t change how he doesn’t like it still.)

“What brings you here?” he asks, walking past her and entering his house. She follows and mimics him as he takes off his shoes and heads to the kitchen. She sits down by the dining table, and Sasuke, not knowing what else to do because he didn’t expect her company today, decides to brew tea. 

The cupboard is full of different sorts of teas Sasuke’s never used before. Majority of them, he’s sure, are way past their expiration date, because he recognizes them to be the ones his mother would make for his father every weekend after a long week of work. He should really throw them out soon, he thinks. The rest of the boxes that are opened, that he has used, are gifts from the rest of his past classmates. Hinata, Lee, and Choji. Each of the tea boxes they gave had different properties to them, based on their explanations for giving them to him, but he knows it had been their sort of “welcome home” gifts. 

Sasuke had snorted when he realized what the gesture meant, but accepted them anyway. He likes Hinata’s tea the best, even though he’s not much of a tea person in the first place. It’s what Uchiha mostly take though, because tea was a lot more traditional as compared to other drinks like coffee, which Sasuke always preferred until now. It might be a sign of growing older, or one of the few ways he tries keeping the Uchiha alive. It’s such a small and irrelevant thing, but despite how logical Sasuke may be on the battlefield, he’s always been known to make questionable decisions for everything else. 

He’s running out of Hinata’s, but he takes out two tea bags anyway. He should probably thank her when he sees her, as well as ask where she bought them. He hasn’t needed to show appreciation for anything in such a long time, and that fact makes him feel detached from reality in a way that shouldn’t be.

“Just checking up on you,” Sakura finally answers, as Sasuke pours in the tea from two cups. They’re ceramic, with the Uchiha crest printed on them because their clan was always known for their large egos. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”

Sasuke sets her cup down as he takes a sip of his. It’s too hot for his tongue, but he can spit fire from his own mouth, so ignoring the pain of heat is easy. “A while meaning, what, two days?” For someone who acts like he doesn’t care about most things, he notices a lot. Using the Sharingan helps, except he hadn’t been using it at the time. The last time he saw her, Sakura was in her professional doctor’s getup, pink hair clumsily tied back even though it was already short enough. He remembers how there were a few stray pieces of hair falling from her face as she was talking to him, and her cheeks were flushed from the heat and exhaustion of the day. She was wearing a simple pair of small bronze hoop earrings that Kakashi gave each of them years ago in congratulations for not only surviving the Land of Waves’ battle, but also coming out victorious. Sasuke thinks Naruto still wears his, though it’s been so long since he’s seen him that he can’t actually remember. As far as anyone is concerned, Sasuke’s own pair is in his old apartment, which no one had touched all these years until it was destroyed by Pein’s Chibaku Tensei. 

(In truth, it’s hidden in one of the drawers of his bedroom. It was one of the few personal possessions he took with him when he left Konoha all those years ago to go to Orochimaru, but not once had he ever worn them. When Suigetsu first found it, rummaging through his backpack for something to eat as they were traveling, he saw them and asked about it. Sasuke just said that he never wore them because he was allergic to the material, even though Orochimaru injected enough chemicals into Sasuke’s system to make him unable to be allergic to _ anything _.)

Sakura is a lot more careful with her tea, making sure to blow before she drinks. She gives him a strange look. “It’s been a week and a half, Sasuke.”

Sasuke stops fiddling with the bandage wrapped around his arm, which is old and falling apart and should really be changed soon. He doesn’t even remember why he needed it. “Oh,” he says, but nothing else comes out. The first thought that comes to his mind is that a week and a half isn’t a long time, but then he remembers that he’s supposed to see her every three days, just so that she knows what and how he’s doing to make sure he wasn’t up to anything bad. It was one of the many conditions he had to abide by in order to remain in Konoha as a relatively free citizen. It annoyed him at first, having to be babysat, but he also knows it’s not one of the worst things he’s ever had to do. He’s aware of the empty prison cell with his name on it, even if no one’s brought it up. “I—”

“Got too caught up finding ways to beat yourself up?” Sakura finishes for him, raising an eyebrow. Sasuke can’t help but make a face, offended. Sakura sighs, long-suffering, but she’s resisting a smile, so she’s not as upset as she seems. “You reek. Take a shower first, and I’ll tell you why I’m really here.” 

⁂

It’s noon by the time Sasuke leaves the compound. Sakura had left an hour ago, saying that she had to attend a shift soon in their temporary hospital and would be there for the rest of the day in case he’d need anything. They’re short on medics, so she has to stay longer than she usually does. Before leaving though, she’d helped him patch himself up, redressing his bandages, covering up all the minor injuries like scrapes and cuts littered all over his body and a few on his face, and healing the bruises littered all over his torso. Sasuke had said he could heal those himself, but Sakura had only retorted by asking him why he hadn’t. 

_ Maybe I just want to torture myself _, had been the reply weighing on his tongue. Admitting to his self-loathing and indirect forms of self-harm (it isn’t that, he swears, but Sakura thinks differently) out loud though, no matter how sarcastic he actually is, would not be the recommended road to go to though. Especially around Sakura, who would definitely not tolerate it. (He’d say it’d make him miss the girl who would keep her mouth shut the moment she thought she’d upset him, but that isn’t exactly true.) Sasuke just keeps quiet instead. 

(“You smell like blood.” Sakura had also pointed out, a frown on her face. Sasuke kept quiet about that too, let her assume it was from his external injuries instead of something else.)

He arrives at his destination shortly, towards one of the construction sites in the residential areas. Only three-fourths the entirety of Konoha had been destroyed, and it’s considered a win because at least it wasn’t everything. Despite his lithe frame build more for speed than strength, he _ is _ physically strong, with the muscles to prove it, so they want him to help doing some of the heavy lifting and general labor. It reminds him of the D-rank missions he used to take up with Naruto and Sakura back when they just got promoted to genin, and though he hated doing it then, those were simpler times. He doesn’t particularly _ miss _it, especially not when right now he’s still doing something like it, and he doesn’t like it anymore than he did before either, but he understands the need for it. As much use as he may be as a shinobi on the field, Konoha doesn’t need that right now. 

The residents whose houses were destroyed were moved to tents stationed in one of the open clearings Pein’s destruction provided. In another open area are the hospital patients, and in another is the makeshift school, because according to Iruka, nothing stops education. Rebuilding the hospital seems to be everyone’s biggest priority though, which is why he’s there. He doesn’t recognize most of the people who have gathered and are working on its construction, but he does see Lee and Tenten, surrounded by large and thick planks and beams of wood piled on top of one another, so he goes to them, not knowing what else to do. 

“Oh,” Tenten says, noticing him first. “It’s you.”

It’s not particularly judgemental, just an observation, so Sasuke doesn’t react, simply tilting his head slightly in acknowledgement. 

“Sasuke!” Lee exclaims loudly. “Finally, you have arrived. I propose we have a challenge to increase our productivity and motivation for today’s task! What do you say to a match to see who can bring the most wood to the carpenters as they remake the hospital so that they can work faster?”

Sasuke raises an eyebrow as Tenten sighs loudly. “That’s not how it works, Lee.” she tells him. “Just because you bring them the materials they need at a fast pace doesn’t mean they can build it quickly.”

“Oh,” Lee says, visibly deflating. Then he brightens up. “Very well then! I will bring one of the planks to them and ask if there’s any other way I can help speed up the process! Maybe some motivational words may help!” And then he takes off to the direction the hospital is going to be built, carrying one of the planks with him. 

Sasuke watches him go before turning to Tenten, who shakes her head in exasperation at Lee’s antics. Then she turns to Sasuke. She nods to the wood behind her. “We just need to bring all this closer to the builders so when they finally need it, it won’t be that out of reach for them. Plus, we need to clear this area because this is supposed to be a street.” 

Sasuke nods. “Where’s your other teammate?”

“Neji? He’s with Shikamaru, though I don’t know what they’re doing.” She turns back and lifts a plank, placing it over her shoulders. “C’mon, let’s go.”

Tenten carries the wood with ease, but it turns out to be a lot heavier than it looks. Sasuke can’t help but be a bit impressed. He never thought she was much during the Chuunin Exams, though he did think her specialization in weaponry and fuinjutsu to be interesting. It reminds him of Suigetsu. 

It takes a lot of convincing on Lee’s part, but the reluctant construction workers finally relent and end up making them do more than just heavy-lifting, and the three of them learn how to use a hammer and nail, among other things. They’re unfamiliar with all the other tools they’ve given and it shows, but the workers seem to appreciate their effort and enthusiasm (_ Lee’s _ enthusiasm, anyway) regardless, so they’re patient when teaching them how it all works. 

The foundation of the hospital is finished by the end of the day, and Sasuke is dirty all over again. The workers thank the three of them as they tidy up, and Lee promises that they’ll all be back first thing in the morning to continue helping. This makes Sasuke grimace and Tenten complain that Lee shouldn’t be making promises on behalf of others, but neither of them actually protest. 

Since all their places are vaguely in the same direction, they walk home together. The night is quiet and the streets are mostly empty, because everyone is already in the camping areas by then because there’s nowhere else to go and nothing else to do in the dark. Since most of the streetlights are gone, they navigate their way through everything using the moonlight and a fire that Sasuke creates and hold high in his hand. 

Lee has been staring at it in awe for the past five minutes they’ve been walking. “That is truly an amazing skill, Sasuke!” he says. “Your control of your own fire must be incredible, if your hand isn’t burning at all.”

Sasuke shrugs. He learned to do this at six. Itachi had been three. Fugaku had pointed this fact out, but when Sasuke learned how to throw the fire around without it burning anyone and they ended up playing a game of catch immediately after, Mikoto had laughed happily, and Fugaku’s mouth had curved upwards just a bit. Even Itachi, who was proud of what Sasuke did, didn’t know how to do that. Then again, there was never a need to. “It barely uses up any chakra.” is all he says in reply. 

Tenten’s stomach abruptly grumbles. “Fuck,” she says. “I’m starving.”

“So am I.” Lee agrees. “I wonder where we can eat though.”

Sasuke isn’t that hungry, but he knows he will be later on. He’d been planning on eating back at home, but he knows the likelihood that he’ll just shower (again) and go straight to sleep is a lot bigger. Then he stops when he sees a familiar store. “Is that Ichiraku?”

Tenten and Lee look, but they aren’t surprised, unlike Sasuke. “It is.” Tenten confirms. “Why?”

“I didn’t know they rebuilt it.” 

“It was never damaged in the first place.” Tenten points out. “You’ve been here for months already. Didn’t you know that?”

He didn’t. Granted, he wasn’t paying attention, and he never did make it much of a habit to roam around the streets. Still, he should’ve noticed this. The store’s always been a bit hard to just not see. 

“I’ve only been out for two.” Sasuke replies. It’s not exactly like he could see or do anything when he was in prison for a good three months. 

“It was one of the few stores that weren’t affected by the attack.” Lee happily says. “Isn’t that amazing? I’m sure Naruto would’ve been ecstatic to find this out.”

Sasuke swears he doesn’t react, doesn’t even _ twitch _ , but Tenten elbows Lee hard and hisses something not-so-quietly along the lines of, _ “Lee, what the fuck. You’re not supposed to talk about him around Sasuke!” _ and it’s clear that that’s not what happened. Or it doesn’t matter. 

“It’s fine.” Sasuke interjects swiftly, cutting off Tenten chewing Lee out for mentioning Naruto. He keeps his tone purposely even, face carefully blank, but from the way the two of them look at him warily, he doesn’t think it works. Sasuke is not as fragile as he looks, and the fact that he might even _ look _fragile is frankly insulting. He’s too tired to voice out any of these thoughts though. He suppresses a sigh and debates leaving before things can get awkward. 

“Sasuke—”

“In any case,” Lee interrupts. “Let us eat here. The rest of the remaining stores are already closed. I doubt that we will come across another opportunity like this tonight.”

Tenten nods as Lee slips under the flap. She looks at Sasuke, who hasn’t moved. “Are you coming?”

He can refuse, he thinks to himself. He doesn’t even like ramen. Hasn’t eaten it in years, and frankly, doesn’t miss it. Sasuke never understood how Naruto would eat the goddamn thing every day and never get sick of it. If he says no, it’s not like he doesn’t have a good reason for it. 

But it’s not the reason why he’s hesitant. He isn’t used to it; being surrounded by his peers that he knew briefly years ago. Though he was with Tenten and Lee for majority of the day, it wasn’t like they talked so much as worked, Lee’s constant motivational rambling aside. He’s still finding his footing in Konoha, especially around these people, and though he’s spoken to all of them at some point, it was always with a specific purpose in mind, never casual and never making the first move. 

Sasuke likes to keep to himself too. The only times he can’t is when he’s with Sakura, or Kakashi, or anyone in Taka, but that’s because they don’t give a shit about his preference for solitude. Tenten and Lee are close too, teammates, and though they’re friendly, Sasuke is still an outsider in more ways than one. He also isn’t confident enough in his social skills to not break the already thin ice they’re actually walking on. He’s never made an effort to work on them before, more used to seeing people based on their worth rather than anything else. It’s never bothered him, but he knows now how his indifference backfires on him. 

And besides, disregarding the fact that he doesn’t even know the two of them that well, so much has changed over the years, and he knows it’s not just him. It’s not that easy. 

_ Sometimes it’s not that deep, Sasuke _ , a voice that sounds suspiciously like Kakashi says in his head. _ Sometimes people just want to be nice, even if the person they’re being nice to people who don’t deserve it. _

Maybe Kakashi has a point, but Sasuke still doesn’t think so. Nothing is ever that simple to him. Naruto should be here, he can’t help but think, having the chance to eat out with Lee and Tenten at Ichiraku. They’re his friends, after all. This is his home. 

Something simmers within him, not at all friendly. For some reason, that what snaps him out of it, brings him to a decision. 

“It’s my treat.” Tenten adds lightly, like she’s trying to convince him. “I never did give you a welcome back present, after all.” 

He’s been here for five months, and all forms of _ welcomes _still catch him off guard. He doesn’t deserve them. 

“You don’t need to.” Sasuke says. “I can’t, though.” He doesn’t explain himself. “But thank you. For the offer.” 

He leaves before she can even get a word out. 

⁂

Despite Lee’s promise, Sasuke doesn’t return to the hospital site and continue helping them rebuild, even though he actually finds himself wanting to. There’s something cathartic about doing simple work like that, be it construction or even chores. It might be a result of the lack of normalcy in Sasuke’s life. 

He wakes up at some point in the evening. Or early morning. He can’t tell at first because it’s still dark, but when he checks his clock, he realizes it’s three. He tries to go back to sleep, doesn’t even remember what woke him up in the first place, but when he lies back on his futon and attempts to even out his breath to relax himself, he’s met with a sharp jab of pain from his back and spreading itself inside his stomach. He grimaces. He’s suddenly not so sleepy anymore. 

An hour before dawn, he goes to the lake where he used to practice his Fireball jutsu and spots a small bird waiting for him by the edge of the tiny wooden dock. In its mouth is a strand of orange hair, and Sasuke summons Naoki to communicate with it. 

“They’re doing fine.” Naoki says, stretching his legs and soaring around Sasuke’s head as the boy asks him to translate what the tiny bird had said. Said small bird had already departed, its mission of reporting to Sasuke already accomplished. “Suigetsu finally found another sword.”

“About time.” Sasuke says. He looks down at the lake and tips a part of his toe into it, letting the water ripple. He imagines Suigetsu grinning up at him. “He better use the sealing scroll I gave him for all the swords he’s getting.”

“He left it behind with Karin.” Naoki replies, to which Sasuke snorts, because that’s typical of Suigetsu. “Juugo is currently carrying the Executioner’s Blade for him. The place they’re in— he forgot the name, but he said that they had good tomatoes. You would’ve liked it there.”

“Probably.” agrees Sasuke, and it’s only towards Naoki would he be so honest and open about these things. He’s on good terms with all his hawks, but it’s Naoki who he’s closest with. It’s probably because they’re around the same age, in terms of hawk years and human years. Teenagers. “Even Oto’s fruits are better than Konoha’s. Makes me almost miss it.”

“Well, it doesn’t seem to look any different from Otogakure.” Naoki remarks. “Looks just as shitty.” 

“That’s because Pein wrecked this place. If you saw this place at its peak, you wouldn’t be saying that.” 

Konohagakure is a densely populated area, everyone gathered and living there at a certain point. Most villages are like that, really, but Konoha is the most obvious. Otogakure has most of its infrastructure and bases built underground or at extremely low levels, and they’re a bit spread out, so that they’re difficult to spot. Otogakure is generally surrounded by nature, which tends to grow around every man-made building there is until it shields them from plain sight. It’s a strategy to keep them hidden. Naoki is only saying Konoha looks like Oto because the central area of the village is destroyed and almost all its tall buildings are gone. It doesn’t help that Orochimaru also tends to have lots of destroyed bases, so the debris is a familiar sight. 

“Am I still needed?” Naoki asks, still circling around him. 

“No.” Sasuke says. “I have to go do work on rebuilding the hospital in an hour. Do you need to go?”

Naoki shakes his head, and trains his gaze past the trees of the Uchiha forest. Sasuke’s brain isn’t working well enough to try and remember that lies beyond there. “There’s something I’d like to see.”

Sasuke frowns, because he’s pretty sure Naoki’s already seen all that he wants to see in Konoha when he let him out the first time, third month back in Konoha. “Right.” he says, deciding to just let it slide. He lies down on the wood, and immediately, he feels tempted to close his eyes and go back to sleep. A quick nap wouldn’t hurt. He’s in the mood for it. “Wake me up when you come back.”

Naoki comes back half an hour later, and wakes Sasuke up by tugging at the bandages around his arm. They end up coming undone again, which makes Sasuke annoyed, but Naoki doesn’t seem to care. “Have you not been sleeping lately?” asks Naoki. 

“I have.” Sasuke says. “I’m just dead tired all the time.”

He can hear the frown in Naoki’s voice. “You’re only drained from training though. There haven’t been any battles you’ve participated in for months.”

Sasuke shrugs. “My head gets too loud sometimes.” And his body occasionally aches with pain that makes sleeping impossible, but he doesn’t really feel like bringing that up now. 

Naoki doesn’t ask him to elaborate, thankfully, because he immediately knows what he’s referring to. “Isn’t there a jutsu to shutting him up?”

“If only.” Sasuke snorts. “I can ignore it a lot more easily if I’m doing something.” It’s also why he prefers wearing himself out for the entire day; if he’s too exhausted, then the pain and the noise that might or might not come won’t even be enough to stop him from blacking out. It’s unhealthy, but it’s not like Sasuke can do anything else. 

“Hm,” Naoki hums, as Sasuke scowls at the torn bandages on his right arm. He’s too lazy to go back and wrap a new set on himself. 

“What happened?” Sasuke asks, easily shifting topics, tugging the bandages Naoki had picked at off entirely. A moment later, he decides to do the same to his other arm, because it looks weird if only one of them was undone. The wounds have already healed by then anyway; it’s been two weeks, after all. He doesn’t really need them anymore. 

“They wanted me to send a message to you.” Naoki says, head tilting as he tears through the bandages on the ground. “They don’t want you to go back to the hospital. Head to the Intelligence Division Headquarters.”

“You mean, what’s left of it?” Sasuke inquires rhetorically, standing up. Naoki picks up the bandages and hands them to Sasuke’s waiting hand as he perches himself on the boy’s shoulder. He takes one last glance at the lake, almost like he expects something to emerge from it. But nothing does, and he turns around. “Who called for you, by the way?”

⁂

To be spiteful, Sasuke gets there fifteen minutes later than he’s meant to. Surprisingly, Kakashi is already there in where the Intelligence Division should be, reading his erotic novels like he hadn’t gone through them more than ten times already. Sasuke bets he can quote that entire book if asked. Then again, no one in their right mind would. 

“You’re abusing my hawks.” Sasuke immediately accuses, almost in complaint. “They aren’t messenger birds.”

“It’s not my fault if they like coming to me.” Kakashi simply replies, snapping his book shut. Naoki quickly leaves Sasuke’s side to go to Kakashi’s open palm. 

“For _ food _.”

Kakashi shrugs, letting Naoki eat the bird seeds from his hand. “You clearly aren’t feeding them enough.”

“They’re not pets.” Sasuke crosses his arms. “Naoki.”

“In a minute.” Naoki says, still swallowing the seeds. 

Sasuke makes a low growl, and Kakashi grins in amusement. 

“Why do you need me here anyway?” Sasuke asks, when Naoki’s finally finished eating from Kakashi’s hand and returns to Sasuke’s shoulder. It’s intended to be a sign of loyalty, but Naoki’s really doing it just so he can pick at Sasuke’s hair, which has always been a strange but interesting shape to the bird. “I’m supposed to help rebuild the hospital with Lee and Tenten.”

“The hospital? Oh, Sakura would be touched if she heard that.”

“It’s not like I was doing it for her.”

“It’s the thought that counts.” Kakashi says. “Anyways, plans for building a new division are already in place, but the people working in the Intelligence Division want us to retrieve all the important files and whatnot that are buried in all the rubble.”

Sasuke frowns. “How sure are you that they aren’t destroyed yet?”

“We don’t.” Kakashi admits. “But all those documents were hidden in their basement, which should still be standing despite the catastrophe. There’s a lot of stuff to move though, so we need more hands working on this.” 

Heavy-lifting again then. Sasuke’s not exactly surprised. He knows he’s strong enough for that kind of task, but sometimes his body thinks otherwise. “How is this any different from what I was doing with Tenten and Lee?”

“You don’t have to play carpenter too, at least.” Kakashi points out. “‘Sides, the workers don’t want you there anymore. They say you got a scary face, and it makes it harder for them to concentrate on their work.”

“You’re joking, right?”

Kakashi simply shrugs. 

Naoki snickers. “This is why you have no friends, Sasuke.”

“Shut up.” 

“But if that’s all you’re going to do, then I guess I’m not really needed here, am I?” Naoki inquires. “I’ll be going then. This is too boring for me.” Naoki disappears in a poof of smoke. Sasuke lets out a disgruntled sound. 

“When did you stop using snakes and start using hawks instead?” Kakashi asks. 

“Do I have to answer that?”

“No.” Kakashi says, in a tone that implies that he should. 

“After Itachi died.” he answers. Every mention of Itachi automatically makes his mind picture his brother’s smiling, bloodied face, right before his death, but almost half a year has enabled him to push it aside without much difficulty, despite how the feelings remain. “Felt like having a summons with birds.”

Kakashi hums. “Itachi did have crows for his.”

Most clans have a contract of summoning with a specific species, and the Uchiha are no exception to this, having an agreement with Nekomata. The only difference is that they tend to have members who don’t make a contract with cats. Itachi and Sasuke are exceptions to this rule, with birds instead. It’s not really that common for Uchiha to use their summons though, because part of Uchiha pride means relying on your family, yourself, or no one. Uchiha Madara’s use of the Kyuubi supposedly doesn’t count as a summon, because it was a one-sided agreement wherein Madara only got control over the beast due to genjutsu. 

A growl ripples through Sasuke’s body, but he ignores it. 

“It’s been months. I can’t believe this place hasn’t even been touched yet.” Sasuke looks at the remains scattered around them. It’s like Pein’s attack happened _ yesterday _.

“Other infrastructure are bigger priorities.” Kakashi shrugs. “That’s why we’re working on this now.” He nods towards the two people a few meters away from him. It’s Choji and Gai, who are already on the job and tossing rubble to the side as they try to clear out the area to get to their goal. “They’ve already started. You should pick up the pace. There’s a lot to do before we get to that basement.”

“I don’t know what you’re thinking,” Sasuke starts. “But I am no Sakura.”

Kakashi quirks an eyebrow. “Does that mean you can’t do it?”

Sasuke bristles. “I never said that.”

He can do it. But carrying around wood is a lot different from carrying debris that’s also made up of other materials. Choji can enlarge parts of his body, and Gai works on his physical abilities enough to be able to do this sort of thing with ease, especially because he practices with weights like Lee does. Sasuke has none of that, but what he does have is a lesser form of Sakura’s ridiculous, inhuman strength, brought about by fine chakra control and manipulation. Learning Chidori and a bit of medical ninjutsu from Kabuto helps, but it’s not enough, and Sasuke’s always kind of hated doing things he can do but not very _ well _. 

It’ll have to do, he supposes. Still, Sasuke can’t help but make a face at the thought of having to waste his chakra unnecessarily on something like this. 

“It won’t be too hard.” Kakashi tells him cheerfully. 

_ Hmph _ , a voice inside him says, deep and thunderous. _ This is a waste of time _. 

Sasuke scowls. He knows that, but still. “Shut up. If it’s so easy, then you do it.”

“I’m afraid I can’t.” Kakashi admits tone dripping with false regret. “Apparently, dying means I have to take it easy. Personally, I hate it, but orders are orders.”

Sasuke’s eye twitches. “It’s been five months.”

“And death is forever.” Kakashi states solemnly. 

“You were dead for like, what, three hours?”

Kakashi shrugs. “Again, doctor’s orders. Even I’m not stupid enough to disobey Sakura. Unlike _ some _ people I know.” He gives Sasuke a knowing look, but Sasuke refuses to feel terrible about it when his teacher is acting like this, even if he _ should _, because Sakura is stressed enough as it is. “But I’ll definitely be watching you from the sidelines to check your productivity today. And cheering, of course.” He adds. “That being said, chop, chop, Sasuke.” Then he disappears in a Shunshin and reappears so far away that Sasuke can only see a small, vague outline of the older man.

“You’re the worst!” Sasuke shouts at him, but Kakashi just waves at him, and it’s clear that either he hadn’t heard him, or he’s just being a piece of shit and ignoring him. Sasuke lets out a frustrated groan, and picks up a broken slab of concrete with a bit of effort, tossing it carelessly to the side in frustration. The cement shatters the moment it hits the ground. 

“That’s the spirit!” Gai yells approvingly at Sasuke, and he wonders if it’s too late to split his head open. 

⁂

Around two hours later, Kakashi disappears from the scene, likely finding better things to do than continue reaching his Icha Icha novel while his pupil wastes chakra and sweat tearing through and tossing out rubble to clear out the field and get to whatever the Intelligence Division wants retrieved. Sasuke isn’t that bothered at first, even grateful because it means that his teacher wouldn’t be taunting him with his presence alone and reminding him that he’s doing grunt work he can’t actually refuse because of the conditions set in exchange for his “freedom” (he thinks of this as a relative term). Stupid probation, making him into a slave. He should’ve just bolted the moment Pein was defeated and caught up with Suigetsu and Juugo in their journey. 

But Kakashi’s absence suddenly makes Gai’s presence all the more noticeable, and Sasuke should’ve known it was about time before the man decided to start bugging Sasuke the same way he’s been bugging Choji the entire morning. Choji has just resorted to half-heartedly responding to Gai with random noises, clearly not listening to the man at all. Sasuke would do the same thing if Gai wasn’t a little more determined to talk to Sasuke as compared to Choji. 

Sasuke should’ve expected it, but he’s still caught off guard with how exactly alike Gai and Lee are. Except he finds Gai to be a more annoying version of Lee, because Sasuke can’t get away with telling Gai off for many, many reasons, and even if he did, he doubts that Gai is the type to shut up and fuck off simply because Sasuke tells him to. 

Gai’s in the middle of trying to initiate a contest between Choji and Sasuke as to who can move the most debris away within the day, except it’s not really working, because Sasuke’s arrogant and competitive _ selectively _ , and Choji is anything _ but _that, when Sasuke senses a familiar chakra presence approaching him from behind.

“Are you my handler this time?” Sasuke asks, using the opportunity of Sakura’s arrival to turn and ignore Gai like the older hadn’t said a word. He hears some comment about how he’s so much like Kakashi, but Gai is a good few meters away from him, so he can’t catch if it’s something positive or not. “I didn’t know you all went in shifts.”

“You know it’s not like that.” Sakura chides. Sasuke knows; it’s not like he has to be watched 24/7 anyway. At most, every three days, one of his handlers — any member of Team 7 — has to know what he’s been doing for all the time they haven’t seen him. He’s meant to update them, a sign of trust they’re trying to show that they’ll believe what he says, but there are instances where they’ll won’t just take his word for it and really do watch over him. Only Kakashi and Sai really go that far though. Kakashi does it just because it grates on Sasuke’s nerves; Sai, well. It’s simply because he still sees Sasuke as a traitor. “I’m just passing by. I don’t have any shifts today, so I’m not doing anything today. What are you doing?” 

“Removing all the debris here until we get whatever the Intelligence Division wants. It’s supposed to be at the bottom of all of this.” Sasuke answers. Looking at his surroundings, it doesn’t look like a thing has changed. To be fair, it’s still noon. All of them have forgone lunch because none of them were hungry. “Rock Lee’s more equipped for this than I am.”

“Maybe.” Sakura agrees. “But the carpenters at the hospital site love him, so I don’t think they’re going to let him go anytime soon.”

“Hn,” says Sasuke, trying not to be peeved that he can’t get out of this. “You should help. This is your specialty, after all.”

Sakura gives him a dirty look, but a few minutes later, she’s a few meters away from him, doing the exact same work but in a different spot. He’d like to think that their progress has been increased with her presence and help, but everything still looks the same. The headquarters were apparently bigger than Sasuke remembered it to be, because there’s just too much to take out. 

Sasuke was born with abnormally large chakra reserves, even by Uchiha standards, but even he can feel his chakra depletion acutely the more he works. It hasn’t been this drained in a long time. Even when he trains himself to the point of exhaustion, at most, his chakra is only three-fourths gone. He grabs another large piece of concrete with chakra-infused hands and carries it to the side. He still hates how he has to use chakra just to be able to carry something. As much as he hates to admit it, he definitely isn’t physically equipped to lift things this heavy. Though he suspects Kakashi didn’t choose him for his physical prowess. Briefly, he wonders if it’s pushing it if he uses Susano’o to just push all the debris aside. He knows his Susano’o is big enough for the job anyway. A lot more chakra would be lost, but a lot more work would be done too, and he hates looking around and feeling like he’s accomplished absolutely nothing. 

He looks around. Only Choji, Gai, and Sakura are here, and Sakura has decided to take a quick break from doing work to talk to the other two, so none of them are near him nor are they paying attention. Sasuke looks at the slab in front of him that’s twice his size, and activates his Mangekyou to utilize his Susano’o. When the purple skeletal arm appears, it scoops up a couple of large pieces and tosses them aside in less than a minute. They crash to the ground with a loud sound, and he disperses it by the time Sakura, Choji, and Gai look up because of the commotion. Sasuke wipes away the blood from his eye before it can drip down his cheek as they all resume working. 

It’s stupid, how proud he feels because using Susano’o is actually useful here. He feels like Suigetsu would be laughing at him, if he knew just how Sasuke was wasting his time in Konoha. 

When he turns, about to go back to the slow way of pushing away the rubble, he feels like someone just hit him in the head with a hammer, and the pain startles him so much he stumbles a bit. Though he regains his footing quickly, the feeling is followed by a headache, and he touches his head, as if that would alleviate it. He must be more tired than he thought. Something doesn’t feel right, feels strange in the midsection of his body. 

Even though his head hurts, he can still function in spite of it, so he turns to the next piece of debris standing near him. He releases chakra into his left hand and it immediately forms into a Chidori, which wasn’t what he was intending, a sign that his focus is waning. He’s not allowed to use the technique unless he gets explicit permission from Kakashi to, so he retracts enough of the chakra for the lightning to disappear, hoping that no one saw. 

Suddenly, a piece of concrete in front of him cracks and crumbles. Sasuke startles, and Gai’s face appears, surprise etched in his expression, fist outstretched mid-air, probably trying to show something off. 

Something inside Sasuke snaps. Dust from the rubble that broke immediately clouds his face and hurts his eyes. He can’t glare at Gai for not warning him, too busy coughing out the particles that slipped inside his mouth. Gai’s sheepish apology floats through his ears, but for some reason, he can’t grasp onto it. He can’t stop coughing either, and the insides of his body are twisting in a way that’s painful. 

There’s something threatening to come up his throat, so he continues forcing it out until the uncomfortable feeling leaves him, hands cupped and a few inches away from his mouth. The pain subsides the more he coughs and whatever wants to come out _ does _, so he doesn’t stop until it’s gone completely. It’s then does he register shouting coming from around him, and then someone’s forcing his eyes open and making him look up. He hadn’t even realized he was hunched over. 

It’s Sakura he sees, her face pinched with alarm and worry. He frowns, wondering why she’s there, before he registers a tingling feeling coming from his torso. He gazes down and sees her hands glowing green, hovering over his body in an attempt to heal him from— something. He’s about to ask why she’s doing that, when he’s just coughing, when he catches sight of his hands and sees how they’re covered in blood. Her mouth is moving, but Sasuke can’t hear anything. 

Almost as if he’s been submerged in water the entire time, Sakura’s voice abruptly rings in his ears, loud and clear. He’s too dizzy to really focus on everything she’s saying, or what Gai and Choji, who are behind Sakura, crouched with concern are saying either,, but he catches “_ it isn’t working _ ”, “ _ everything is a wreck _ ”, “ _ too fast for me to heal _” leave her lips. Sasuke wants to reply even though he doesn’t know what to do; all that comes out is another bout of blood. 

Sakura lets out a distressed noise, and Sasuke manages to catch her ask him where it hurts the most. 

His back, Sasuke thinks, when he tries to concentrate and pinpoint the pain, which is a lot harder than it looks. It’s not even his first time ever going through this kind of excruciating pain, not even internally, so he doesn’t know why it hurts so much. And why his back? What the fuck is so special about his back?

Not even a second later, he realizes why. _ Fuck _. 

“My back.” Sasuke breathes out, even though he was supposed to explain why it hurts. “Lo—lower part.”

It’s not much, but Sakura’s confusion clears out, replaced by a look of grim understanding. She nods, and turns to Gai, saying something, but Sasuke’s brain has drowned out the outer noise once more. 

She stops trying to heal him in lieu of running a hand down his back comfortingly, urging him to even out his breathing and calm down his heart rate, which is beating at an insane pace. In response, Sasuke just coughs out more blood, which just freaks her out. He feels terrible, wants to try and stop, but his body starts hurting all over again if he keeps it in, and though he has a high tolerance for pain, this isn’t something he wants to get used to experiencing. 

His eyes flit back from opening to closing, and the blood loss might be why he’s drifting in and out of consciousness, except when he looks, it’s not really a lot of blood to begin with. Not enough to result in a fainting, anyway. And Sasuke doesn’t want to faint. He’s not weak like that. 

If only his body could get the memo. 

Though his brain is trying to block out any noise from the outside, his mind is screaming nonsense in reaction to the internal pain. Then another voice, a rumble of laughter, responds to his turmoil, and Sasuke knows that it isn’t his own. He can’t help but glower, and it must show on his face. 

_ You sadistic fuck _. He says, but he doesn’t think it leaves his mouth. 

_ Hm, _ says the darkness he’s staring into, with a sort of aloofness in his tone that rivals Sasuke’s. _ Takes one to know one _.

Sasuke’s eyes flutter open when he feels a hand ruffling his hair. It’s not something Sakura would do, and last time he remembered, he was in her comforting embrace. When he looks, he’s still being held by his teammate, but he catches a flash of white hair from the corner of his vision before it disappears. Kakashi, he recognizes. Sakura says something to him before straightening up his slumped posture. He’s about to ask what she’s doing, but then she mouths _ sorry _, and then there’s a hand pressed into his bare back — when did they get his shirt off? — and the pain just—

_ Doubles _. By now, he’s actually screaming, and distantly, he can feel Sakura’s grip on him tighten. It’s so painful that he actually wants to black out, but that’s not exactly what happens. 

Instead, he finds himself under a yellow sky, standing in front of a black pit. Surrounding him and the pit is an open, vast field, filled with greenery, a mock imitation of the real world. It reminds Sasuke of the hideout of Orochimaru’s that he blew up because Sai woke him up and he realized that Naruto and Sakura were there. He knows that Naruto’s looks completely different, an underground complex with pipes surrounding the walls, various hallways, and at the heart of it: the Kyuubi locked in a large cage with a paper seal preventing the beast from escaping. Sasuke knows the reason his doesn’t look like that is because different fuinjutsu were used on them. 

This isn’t his first time being in this subconscious plane, so he’s not shocked. What’s surprising is that Kakashi is also here, right beside him. 

“What the fuck,” Sasuke says. He feels none of the pain anymore, but that’s because he’s retreated back into his mind, and any sort of pain is blocked out. “What are you doing here?”

“Helping you,” Kakashi replies, gaze still trained down. 

A growl erupts from the pit, the beast just as caught off guard as Sasuke is with Kakashi’s sudden presence. It reminds Sasuke eerily about when he slipped into Naruto’s consciousness and saw the demon the first time, and he wonders if the creature is thinking the same thing. 

But Kakashi’s Sharingan isn’t activated, and that was how Sasuke got inside for Naruto. 

_ Hatake Kakashi _ , says the ominous voice, fox eyes appearing from the darkness. _ You’re not supposed to be here. _

“Kyuubi,” Kakashi says. “I suggest you stop destroying my student’s insides. It’s painful enough to watch.” 

_ I’m not doing anything. _ The demon hisses, and the blackness slowly recedes until it’s only covering half of Kyuubi’s body. He’s standing, though it’s still not tall enough for him to be out of the pit. _ He is not an Uzumaki. He was not made to contain me. My chakra rejects him. _

“The only reason why his body is rejecting your chakra is because you’re releasing too much of it. He can’t adjust to it as long as you’re giving him more than he can handle.”

_ Is there anything wrong with that? _ Kyuubi questions. _ It wouldn’t be the first time the brat would bite off more than he can chew. _

Sasuke scowls, but he doesn’t say anything. “Retract it immediately.” Kakashi orders, gray eye going hard. 

Kyuubi snarls. _ And why should I listen to you? _

“Because you aren’t going to like what I’ll do to you if you don’t.” The Kyuubi’s eyes narrow, as if debating whether to continue defying Kakashi or not. “I can do more besides just enter your seal.” he adds. 

Kyuubi eyes Kakashi for a moment before growling, and he sits down as the darkness rises up once more, slowly covering him. _ Fine. I’ll recede the chakra. I’m tired of talking to you human lot anyway. _

When he’s completely gone from sight, Kakashi turns to Sasuke. “You okay?” he asks. 

“I’m not a baby.” Sasuke argues. 

“Of course you aren’t.” Kakashi says, in a light tone that means he absolutely does not believe him. “And you aren’t going to whine later on about what I’m about to do to you, are you?”

Sasuke gives him a confused look. “What are you—”

Sasuke doesn’t get to finish. Kakashi punches him hard in the gut, and everything turns white. 


	2. walk on water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke shifts, uncomfortable because of how somber Kakashi looks. “You said before that I was a lot like you.”
> 
> Kakashi tilts his head, looking thoughtful. “That was careless of me to say.” he admits. “You’re not like any of us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heads-up for some naruto & sasuke interactions (sorta) and ton of naruto lore or headcanons i came up with bc the naruto universe just has so much untouched potential that kishimoto hadn't talked about AT ALL in the naruto series

“—his muscles were tearing themselves apart, and my medical ninjutsu wasn’t working  _ at all _ . Then when you did your— whatever, everything started to repair itself on its own. It was like watching Naruto all over again.” Sakura’s voice. Her tone turns wistful at the end of it. “Neji passed by and said there was this intimidating chakra practically spilling out of him the entire time, but I couldn’t sense anything besides how tense the air became. Is that normal?”

A sigh. “Nothing about this situation is normal.” Kakashi’s voice floats through the air. “You have to realize that Naruto and Sasuke’s situations are very, very different. Naruto’s was a lot easier to notice because he had the entirety of the Kyuubi sealed inside him. Sasuke’s is only half, so when it accidentally slips out, it’s not visible unless you have special dojutsu or you’re a sensory-type shinobi.”

Silence. “I mean, Kyuubi’s chakra went away when Sasuke was already properly healed, and that’s what matters in the end, right?” Sakura eventually says. Kakashi hums in agreement.

“Kakashi-senpai,” That’s not Sakura. It’s the wood user— Yamato. “What exactly did you do?”

It seems as though Kakashi’s about to answer, but Sasuke makes the mistake of twitching because staying still for such a long time requires a sort of patience Sasuke does  _ not  _ have, and his teacher clearly notices the small gesture. “Oh, Sasuke.” he says. “You’re awake.”

Sasuke opens his eyes, and the first thing he sees is the tent’s ceiling. When he looks around, he realizes from the medical equipment at the side close to the entrance that he’s in the makeshift hospital area. It’s only him, Sakura, Yamato, and Kakashi inside. He’s lying on a cot, and despite how spacious the tent is, he’s the only one there.

Sasuke sits up and frowns as the blanket covering him falls. He’s half-naked. He spots his shirt draped over a small table across his bed, and the clothing dirtied with blood and completely torn at the back, likely due to Kakashi ripping it open to access his seal. Almost the entire Uchiha crest is gone. He quietly mourns the loss of the garment. At least he still has a couple replicas still left. “I didn’t know you could afford to waste all this space on me.”

“Lots of shinobi have already recovered since Pein’s attack.” Sakura says. “We have more free space now.”

“Besides, it’s not exactly like patients feel safe being in the same room as dying man.” Kakashi says. “It’s quite the downer on their mental health, apparently.”

Sasuke rolls his eyes. “Yeah, you would know, wouldn't you."

Kakashi grins beneath his mask.

Still, it's not bad enough to warrant him a visit and stay at the hospital. Then again, “What about the Intelligence Division?”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that anymore.” Kakashi reassures him. “They’re going to try and avoid giving you work that exhausts your chakra and energy too much, so that things like what happened earlier won’t happen again. At least until everything cools down.”

Sasuke resists letting out a sigh of relief, even though he knows “strenuous activities” aren’t what triggers them. Then he looks at Yamato sharply. “Why is he here?”

“It was Kyuubi activity. He’s the only living person who knows how to suppress its chakra. He’s just here on precaution, on the off chance it’d escalate while you were unconscious.” Sakura explains, before pausing. “I mean, until Kakashi-sensei suddenly displayed the ability to do the same thing too.”

Kakashi raises his hands up in surrender. “Like I said earlier, Sasuke only has half of the Kyuubi sealed in him. None of what I could do would work on Naruto. The fox’s chakra is leagues ahead of the rest of the bijuu. Only Yamato can handle him.”

“Right.” Sakura eyes Kakashi suspiciously before looking at Sasuke. “How are you feeling, Sasuke?”

“Fine.” Other than the grogginess, he feels completely normal. Almost as if he wasn’t in pain in the first place.

“I don’t think he’ll need an overnight stay.” Kakashi inputs.

“Well, you’re already healed because of the Kyuubi’s regenerative abilities, and Kakashi is apparently sure that you won’t be hacking up blood and freaking everyone out anytime soon, so I won’t keep you here overnight, even though my instincts are telling me how that’s a terrible, terrible idea.” Sakura explains. “I’ll just tell the head nurse that I’m issuing your release. Kakashi-sensei, come with me. You owe me an explanation. Stay here, Sasuke.” Sasuke simply nods dutifully. “I’ll go fetch you a new shirt too. Yamato-sensei, please watch over him. Make sure he doesn’t try and escape while I’m not there. I won’t be gone for long.”

“Whatever.” says Sasuke flippantly. “I’m not Naruto.”

“Fortunately.” Sakura says, smiling before exiting the tent, Kakashi trailing behind her. Eventually, it’s just him and Yamato. He realizes that there’s bandage wrapped around his torso, and he starts to pick at it, not knowing what else to do.

“You shouldn’t do that.” Yamato tells him. “Sakura put that on for a reason.”

Sasuke looks at him, as if he’s considering what the older is saying, but then gazes back down and starts unraveling the bandage anyway. Yamato doesn’t stop him, but his disapproval hangs all over the air. It’s a good thing Sasuke doesn’t care. Between the two new members of Team 7, he likes Yamato a lot more than Sai, but he doesn’t have much respect for him either. Yamato is just . . . someone there. Mostly, he just thinks Yamato’s Wood Release is convenient for house-building.

“I don’t need your pity.” Sasuke says, because his torso shows no new wounds. What happened earlier was all internal, after all. Sakura likely wrapped the bandage around him so he would feel less bare.

He can feel Yamato’s eyes on him as his hand drops to the area between his rib cage and abdomen. He traces the long white scar there, a stab wound that Sakura said actually killed him for a few seconds before the Kyuubi’s chakra kicked in and healed it, bringing him back. He remembers when he put a hole through Naruto’s chest and how it healed without any mark left. Sasuke’s body is generally littered with battle scars, but he can only tell which ones were from  _ before  _ the seal and  _ after  _ for some, and it’s mostly because he remembers the battles from where he got them. Besides the stab wound, all his injuries heal the normal, slow-paced way, like they always did, and the wounds that are deep enough to leave scars leave them. He doesn’t have Naruto’s clear, uninjured skin. Sasuke used to think it was because — like Kakashi’s said twice already — he only has half the Kyuubi’s chakra within him, meaning only half of the actual power, but he’s beginning to think that it’s because of something personal instead.

“Uchiha Sasuke,” Yamato starts, voice awfully formal. “I know it’s already been months since Pein’s attack, but it’s been bothering me for a while. Why did you decide to come back all of a sudden and help Naruto defeat Pein when you were rumored to be allies with him and their organization?”

Sasuke doesn’t even spare him a glance. “You can ask, but that doesn’t mean I’m obligated to answer.” he replies.

Yamato presses his lips together, but before he can say anything else, Sakura and Kakashi come back, a folded shirt in her hands. “Sorry we took a while. One of the nurses was trying to flirt with Kakashi-sensei.”

It’s a plain short-sleeved black shirt. Sasuke puts it on with a quiet thanks. “She tried pulling my mask down.” Kakashi supplies. “I don’t think that was flirting so much as it was just trying to unlock the mystery behind what my face looks like.”

“Well, it’s a pretty handsome face.” Yamato comments, while Sakura complains about how she still hasn’t seen Kakashi’s face until now. Even Sasuke doesn’t know, but he doesn’t really care as much as he did before. It was a stupid and trivial thing to waste his time on, but Sasuke was thirteen and actually liked getting roped into whatever shenanigans Naruto dragged him into, though he’d never admit it. It felt a lot like being a happier, more normal kid, like his time before the massacre.

Half an hour later, and they’re all leaving the tent. To Sasuke’s surprise, he’d only been unconscious for an hour, so it was still afternoon, albeit approaching late. Even though Sakura has no shifts for the day, since she was already in the medical wing, she thought she might as well check up on their supplies. Kakashi had disappeared in a Shunshin the moment he stepped out, while Yamato left because there were still more houses he had to make. Sasuke’s free of his duties for the rest of the day, and he’d go train if it didn’t mean straining himself. He normally wouldn’t care about it, except after today, he’s wary about tiring himself out, especially when not even a day had passed since his body trying to wreck itself. He doesn’t want to risk permanent damage, even if the Kyuubi has incredible regenerative abilities.

Besides, it’s not exactly like the demon is being particularly cooperative with him, seeing as he was the reason Sasuke was nearly dying in the first place.

Sasuke searches for Kakashi’s chakra and finds it in the cemetery. It was one of the few places that hadn’t been damaged by the attack since it’s a lot closer to the outskirts. The first and only time Sasuke’s been here was for the Sandaime’s funeral.

There aren’t any Uchiha buried there, because there are no Uchiha corpses to bury. When an Uchiha dies, their body is burned, because it’s through the fire’s smoke that their spirit ascends to Pure Land. What’s left of their bodies— the ashes, have to be scattered into the soil of the Uchiha forest to symbolize how they’ve made a mark on the world and how they reunite with nature. For a clan that was meant to stage a coup against Konoha, their remains are part of what makes the village blossom with its famous, fresh greenery. It took Sasuke half a year to be able to burn every member of his clan. At some point, he wanted to give up. He was seven, and he wasn’t mentally capable enough to perform the funeral tradition over and over again.

(In the end, he did it anyway. Sending them to Pure Land was the least they deserved after being so brutally murdered.)

It’s said that until the fire dies out and the smoke dissipates, they’re still considered alive. Sasuke never got ahold of Itachi’s corpse, so he never managed to burn it, and a sick, lonely part of him thinks that it means Itachi isn’t dead yet. It’s the most naive thought he’s ever had, because Sasuke knows a dead man when he sees one.

“Tell me how you did it.” Sasuke tells Kakashi, when he gets there. “You weren’t using your Sharingan. How did you get inside my seal?”

“It’s an Uzumaki Clan technique; they specialize in fuinjutsu.” Kakashi answers. They stand in front of one of the graves, but Sasuke’s attention rests purely on his teacher. “Just as it’s possible to seal things like bijuu inside a person, you can also seal people, or parts of their conscious or soul. The Yondaime, for example, Naruto's father, sealed a piece of his own consciousness inside Naruto, along with the Kyuubi, though he’s only there to fulfill a specific kind of purpose; then he disappears afterwards.”

The first thing Sasuke thinks is that it sounds screwed up. What kind of dad would do that their own kid? But the Yondaime is dead, so questioning his decisions are useless. It probably has something to do with jinchuuriki needing to be closely related to village leaders though, just so that they’d be easier to control. Suigetsu had said a lot more about it, but Sasuke tuned it out shortly after because he didn’t find it relevant.

“But he has a certain authority over the subconscious of Naruto, because he’s sealed inside him. Just as how the Kyuubi affects you because he’s inside of you.” continues Kakashi. “What I did was sort of like that, but it’s only temporary. There are easier ways, like using the Sharingan, but if I make it like I’m also sealed inside you, then I can inflict more damage on the Kyuubi because we’re in the same territory; I’m not acting from the outside. That’s why the Kyuubi was intimidated and listened to me when I told him to pull back the chakra he was forcefully pushing into you.” 

Sasuke didn’t know the Uzumaki was an actual clan until he started training under Orochimaru, who admitted that someone from that clan would’ve been the perfect body for him, except for the fact that his transference jutsu wasn’t strong enough to work on an Uzumaki. Naruto was the only Uzumaki Sasuke knew, after all, and his name never seemed special before. “How did you know the technique then, if you aren’t an Uzumaki? Naruto taught it you?”

“No, but his mother created it.” Kakashi says, which makes sense to Sasuke, because the Yondaime’s last name had been Namikaze. He knew Naruto was his son even before, but he never understood why Naruto couldn’t take the name. Or even seemed to know anything about his parents. “I asked her to teach it to me.”

“Why?”

Kakashi doesn’t answer. It’s then does Sasuke gaze down at the gravestone they’re visiting. Engraved on it is the name  _ Nohara Rin _ . There’s a fresh bouquet right beside the stone. Sasuke looks to the white-haired man, but the older just stares at the grave with an unreadable expression on his face.

“She used to be my teammate.” Kakashi starts, as the sun starts to descend for the night. “My other teammate— his name is engraved in the Memorial Stone. Shinobi who contributed a lot to all the past wars whose bodies were never brought back end up going there.” Sasuke waits for him to continue. “Rin was a jinchuuriki, a medical nin, as talented as Sakura. Obito was an Uchiha, and he wanted to be Hokage. He gave me his Sharingan, during the Third Shinobi World War. When I look at Naruto, I see the two of them.” He looks at Sasuke. “And now, I see them in you too.”

Sasuke shifts, uncomfortable because of how somber Kakashi looks. If Obito died during the war, then Sasuke’s never met him. He was born after, and he’s never heard the name before. Still, they were kin. Gifted with fire in their bellies and the future in their eyes. “You said before that I was a lot like you.”

Kakashi tilts his head, looking thoughtful. “That was careless of me to say.” he admits. “You’re not like any of us.”

Sasuke doesn’t know if that’s meant to be a good thing or not, but does know that it’s true. He’s not like any of them. He left, after all, abandoned everything he had, while none of them did. “Your teammate. She was the jinchuuriki of what?”

“Of the Sanbi.” Kakashi says. “During a mission, some Kiri shinobi had sealed it in her to make her into a time bomb so that Konoha would be destroyed, but she sacrificed herself before we made it to the village.” He’s not telling the whole story, but Sasuke doesn’t want to press for details. He knows how hard it is to open up. Even until now, he doesn’t talk to anyone about the details of the massacre or Itachi. “After she died, I tried learning more about the bijuu and fuinjutsu, so maybe next time, if something like that ever happened again, I could do something.”

Kakashi is exceptionally strong, one of the best in the entire village. It’s hard for Sasuke to really process that for all his teacher’s capabilities, he wasn’t able to save the people he loved the most. He wants to ask if that’s really possible, if there are some things even the strongest can’t change, because he’s always known that being powerful means being able to do anything.

Instead, he says, “Why are you telling me this?”

“If you want the truth,” Kakashi says, turning back to the grave. “These were things I’ve always wanted to tell Naruto.”

Not him, or Sakura. Sasuke isn’t that surprised about the confession. Naruto is the Yondaime’s son, and the Yondaime was Kakashi’s teacher. For all the claims people made that Sasuke was Kakashi’s favorite, the reality is that it’s Naruto. The problem child, yet the golden boy.

“He has Minato-sensei’s aspirations, Obito’s dream, and Rin’s heart.” Kakashi explains, even though Sasuke didn’t ask. “The reason that they’re still alive is because of him.”

Opposites. Sasuke is nothing like them, while Naruto is all of them. Naruto basks in light and acceptance, the companionship of others that he never had before. Sasuke shrouds himself in the dark, in indifference, in isolation so that he can’t be hindered or hurt by others.

“But Naruto isn’t here.” Sasuke points out. “I’m just a spare then?”

“No.” says Kakashi lowly. “But I keep on thinking about how much I could’ve prevented if I just told you all of this years ago, before you left.”

If he opened up and shared in the loss and powerlessness Sasuke felt, instead of scolding him for drowning in it and translating it into rage instead of grief. Sometimes Sasuke looks back on it and wonders what could’ve happened to make the future change. If Orochimaru was defeated then in his battle with Sarutobi, if Itachi didn’t come shortly after.

In the end, he doesn’t know. As much as he looks back into his past to give him motivation to push forward, he doesn’t want to think about that part in his history.

“It’s pointless to dwell on the past.” he says. “I’m back, aren’t I?”

“I suppose you are.” Kakashi says, but he doesn’t sound like he trusts him completely. Sasuke’s annoyed, but he recognizes that it’s fair enough. He doesn’t even know if he believes it himself.

“What I did to make Kyuubi retract his chakra isn’t a permanent solution, just a temporary one.” Kakashi tells him, going back to the topic of the beast inside Sasuke. “It’s also the most I can do; everything else is up to you. He shouldn’t bother you for a while, but when he does, hopefully you’ll already have adapted to him by then, so his chakra won’t have any . . . damaging results on your body.”

“I know that.” The sunset sky casts a serene light over them. Orange always makes him think of Naruto, but now it makes him think of the Kyuubi too. “Isn’t the seal supposed to have prevented the Kyuubi from using his chakra like this?”

“No seal is perfect, in the same way that every jutsu has a flaw.” Kakashi says, but that doesn’t appease Sasuke.

Sasuke crosses his arms. “He does it because he hates me.”

“Odd, considering how charming your personality is.” Sasuke glares at him. “I’m sure he was like that to Naruto in the start, but the Uzumaki have bodies tough enough to suppress bijuu chakra without any repercussions on their half. Give him time to get used to you, just as you should get used to him.”

Sasuke doesn’t know what Kakashi’s thinking, but there isn’t actually a lot to get used to. The adjustment to the foreign chakra inside his body and the mess that comes with it aside, the only other distinct thing the Kyuubi has ever done is chatter inside his head. Sasuke can never completely drown out his voice, but he can ignore it through various unhealthy methods that all lead to complete exhaustion, and it’s not like the beast is always talking. Not once had Sasuke ever spoke back to him, thinking that his lack of cooperation would finally keep the Kyuubi’s mouth shut, but all it did was make the Kyuubi start talking without the expectation for a reply. He doesn’t think this solution is a long-term one, but it’s not like he knows any other way to deal with it. This apparently wasn’t an issue any Uzumaki jinchuuriki faced, because they have the capability to block the fox out completely if they don’t want to listen. Some kind of mental barrier that also makes them a bit more capable of resisting Yamanaka techniques. No wonder Naruto hadn’t gone insane all those years with this shithead inside him.

Then again, he probably didn’t even know he was capable of doing that sort of thing in the first place, because Sasuke still remembers twelve-year-old Naruto who was as confused as the rest of them as to why people hated him so much and why when he snapped, bad things happened. Naruto, who, already a full-fledged genin, still didn’t know anything about the fox inside him.

Sasuke grits his teeth — Kabuto hated it when he did this, said that it’d ruin his perfect but fragile dentures, which is probably what made Sasuke want to do it all the more — when he thinks of how stupid Konoha is in dealing with their internal problems.

“Konoha’s main priority right now is rebuilding itself,” Kakashi states, pulling him out of his thoughts. “But we also need to keep our guard up, because this is the perfect time for all our other enemies to strike. We don’t know what might hit us. It doesn’t help that our Godaime is out of commission.”

Sasuke’s heard rumors that while Tsunade is unconscious, they’ll try and find a new Hokage to take her place for the time-being. She hadn’t named anyone as her successor yet, but he knows they’re looking at Kakashi. The latter hasn’t mentioned anything about it though.

“In any case,” continues Kakashi. “I want you to meet me at the Hokage Residence tomorrow, noon.”

Sasuke frowns. “What for?”

Kakashi grins at him beneath his mask. “We’re going to do something about your genin status.”

⁂

Sasuke is not a dreamer. When he sleeps, it’s of a peaceful nothing. Nightmares that smelled like death and looked like corpses, blood smeared over every inch of his surroundings, were an occasional occurrence until he went to Orochimaru, and he pumped in enough chemicals in Sasuke’s body for him to stop reacting to them, and eventually, stop unconsciously thinking of them. His imagination doesn’t run wild anymore because to sleep is to rest, and somehow, he’s managed to condition his brain to abide by this rule. He’d like to think it’s a reflection of the fact that he’s someone who never thinks of the impossible.

And yet, when he lies down on his futon and closes his eyes, he sees Naruto standing in front of him, and he knows he’s dreaming.

They’re standing on water, with the blue sky above them closer to the ground than normal. Sasuke almost thinks he can reach it if he jumped high enough. This isn’t a memory, because the Naruto in front of him is the same age as him, and he’s never fought him on water. He’s in his usual orange-black tracksuit, hitai-ate firmly secured around his forehead. They’re right in front of each other, and Naruto doesn’t say a word.

Eventually, Sasuke gets uncomfortable with the silence and the way Naruto just stares at him, even though it’s not unusual for him to. He blames it on their circumstances in the outside world, their reality. “The fuck are you here for?” Sasuke questions.

Naruto shrugs. “You tell me.” he says. “The reason I’m here right now is because of you.”

Sasuke doesn’t know what to make of that. “A part of you is sealed in here, right? Along with the Kyuubi.” he says. “Just like what the Yondaime did with you. Your dad’s pretty screwed up, by the way.”

Naruto huffs. “Says the guy whose dad emotionally abused him.”

Sasuke gives him a sharp look. “He what?”

Something seems to click in Naruto, and his casual bravado instantly disappears. “You know,” he waves a hand uselessly in the air, trying to grasp onto the words. “Your dad used to talk shit to you, didn’t he? Like you couldn’t compare to your brother, were useless, all that stuff. Sakura said that’s what it’s called, when your parent does that to you and it traumatizes you. It’s like, supposed to be as bad as physical abuse— like hitting and stuff.”

“He didn’t ‘emotionally abuse’ me.” Sasuke makes a face as he uses the term. “It’s called traditional parenting, stupid. Tough love and all. It’s meant to make me more independent and motivated. Besides, we’re shinobi. What kind of shinobi gets traumatized by shit people  _ say  _ about him?”

_ He  _ is, Sasuke realizes, the moment the words leave his mouth. It leaves a bitter, shameful taste on his tongue. Because every word of disapproval his father had said, Sasuke took to heart and carried inside him. Even after the massacre, he lived knowing he’d always be the second son and second best to his brother. He didn’t just want power to be able to avenge his clan; he wanted power to prove his father wrong; that he wasn’t weak, that he wasn’t any of the things Fugaku had told him he was. The fact that he cared in the first place though— how weak was he, to be so conscious of what others thought of him, even if it was his own father? Fugaku wasn’t here anymore. And even if he was, Sasuke didn’t need his approval. He didn’t need  _ anyone’s  _ approval. He’s insulted that Naruto would insinuate that he’d be traumatized by something as petty as someone’s  _ opinion  _ of him. Naruto doesn’t know jackshit about his life, about his family.

Sasuke’s silence must be saying something else though, because when Naruto speaks up, his voice is gentle, “Sasuke—”

“Shut up.” Sasuke snaps. “You’re wrong. It didn’t scar me or anything. I’m not weak.” He pauses. “And I’m not talking about this crap anymore.”

Naruto frowns, but he’s willing to let go of the topic. “Fine.” he says firmly. “Let’s talk about something else. You didn’t answer Yamato’s question.”

Sasuke groans loudly. “Not this again.” he says. “Fuck off, will you?”

“We’re in your head, bastard! I can’t go anywhere.” Naruto points out, already worked up. Sasuke wonders if they can fistfight even in a subconscious plane. “Why did you suddenly decide to come back and help me, even after everything you said and did?”

Naruto makes it sound like Sasuke did more wrong things than just leave Konoha, and Sasuke doesn’t even think doing that was wrong, even until now. Bringing this up would only lead to another argument though, and Sasuke isn’t in the mood to move on from an issue by entering another one.

“Are you going to tell me the same thing you told him?” demands Naruto.

“As if you’d back down if I told you that.” Sasuke sneers.

“So?” Naruto presses, leaning forward and closer to Sasuke’s personal space.

“I don’t fucking know.” Sasuke grits out, glaring at him and resisting the urge to lean back just to put more space between them. He refuses to back down. “Instinct. My body just moved on its own. It’s not that fun watching your ass get kicked if I’m not the one doing it.” he adds.

Naruto narrows his eyes. “You’re a shit liar.”

“Whatever, dead last. As if I care about what you think.” Sasuke says, hand going to Naruto’s chest and pushing him away. He’s surprisingly solid under Sasuke’s touch, almost  _ real _ , but since Sasuke also doesn’t know what to do with that information, he doesn’t linger on it. “Aren’t you here because of what happened with the Kyuubi earlier?” he asks. “‘Cause it’s been dealt with, no thanks to you. Where were you anyway?”

“Somewhere around the area.” Naruto replies flippantly. “Your body rejecting the Kyuubi’s chakra is a physical thing, so I can’t do shit about it. And even if it wasn’t, I still can’t do anything.”

That doesn’t make sense. “Then why are you here in the first place?”

“Who says I’m really here?” the blonde retorts. “You’re the one assuming everything.”

Sasuke’s eyes widen at the implications of Naruto’s words. “So, what, that means you’re not actually—”

“It means,” Naruto interrupts. “That you need to wake up now.”

The world around them starts to fade, overtaken by a darkness that heads their way. “Naruto, you—” Sasuke tries to reach out to him, but Naruto just takes a step back, avoiding his touch.

Sasuke can’t help but look stricken, but the blonde flashes him his trademark grin, and he’s the brightest and most colorful thing he sees amidst the black. “See ya.”

Naruto disappears, and Sasuke’s left standing in an abyss full of nothing until he goes too.

⁂

The ceiling fan spinning is the first thing he sees when he wakes up with a startle. Outside, he thinks he can almost hear a rooster crow, before remembering that he’s sixteen and no longer six, and there’s no one to take care of farm animals like those anymore. It’s also not that early; the paper thin walls reflect a light that has been out for a while.

Sasuke doesn’t get up immediately, the dream still reeling inside his head. He lifts his hand up and stares at it, clenching it experimentally. It’s the same hand he used to try and reach out to Naruto before the darkness had overtaken them both and he was pulled back into the waking world. He can’t believe he dreamt of Naruto. He’d be surprised how he got the blonde’s personality so down to pat in his mind, almost to the point where he fooled himself into thinking that he was talking to a part of Naruto’s consciousness, but denial is sweet, and it’s not like Naruto’s personality is that different from three years ago.

Kakashi wanted to see Sasuke at noon. It’s only thirty minutes to eleven, so Sasuke has enough time to pace himself as he starts preparing for the day. In the dining area, he cleans up last night’s plate and utensils he left at the sink, and sweeps the entire place for good measure. He eats a fruit and calls that breakfast and lunch. Then he takes a long shower, letting the water run for so long that eventually it turns cold.

_ Oi, Uchiha brat. _ The Kyuubi says inside him.  _ I want to see Naruto _ .

Sasuke ignores the voice and continues rinsing himself until his skin turns a light pink.

There’s a full body mirror right across the stall, with no curtains to block him from the rest of the bathroom but a glass wall, so as Sasuke goes through the motions, he faces away from the mirror and turns his head so he can see his back through the mirror. Sasuke knows his seal is different from the one Naruto has, but it’s apparently no less effective. For one, it’s visible all the time, while Naruto’s only appears when he utilizes the Kyuubi’s chakra; it looks different from the blonde’s too, but the difference isn’t that jarring. It’s still the black swirl, but instead of one big one, it’s three small ones, two of them beside each other with the last one above them, creating a triangular formation. It’s also positioned in his lower back. Sasuke once asked Sakura, who was with them as Naruto did the sealing, why Naruto placed it there. Sakura said she didn’t know, but guessed it was because at the time, Sasuke was lying on his stomach, and turning him around would just make things worse.

_ Brat, are you deaf?  _ The beast thunders again. The darkness in the pit always recedes enough just to show his face.  _ I want to visit Naruto. _

After the shower, Sasuke digs through his closet, looking for clothes. He likes his high-collared and zipped white shirt the most, but already three of them have been destroyed in the five months he’s been here, so he needs to change what he wears daily soon. He’s been raiding Shisui’s wardrobe for a while now, and he has a plethora of the exact same outfit— a v-neck black shirt with mesh armor underneath — and he puts on his usual dark pants and wrist warmers. It’s not the typical high-collared Uchiha garments, but they fit well, and they’re not uncomfortable either. He supposes he can wear these in the meantime. It kind of reminds him of Itachi’s outfit. He ditched the use of the purple rope belt that was distinctly Orochimaru long ago, so he has to sling his sword with a strap over his shoulder as he tucks in his weapon pouch and makes sure everything he needs is in there. He doesn’t know what Kakashi might have in store for him, so he might as well be prepared. Then he heads out.

_ I’ll do it again if you don’t. _ The fox threatens. He doesn’t need to elaborate for Sasuke to know what he’s referring to. Sasuke isn’t keen on going through that pain all over again that he knows the Kyuubi can trigger from releasing more chakra than necessary, but still.

“Shut up.” he says aloud, his first time ever acknowledging the Kyuubi. “I’m busy today.” He doesn’t want to visit Naruto, especially because of the fact that he dreamt of him. Sasuke thinks there’s something wrong with him. The fact that the fox wants to only makes him all the more averse to the idea.

Not for the first time, he silently curses Naruto for doing this to him.

⁂

The Hokage Residence was one of the first things they focused on rebuilding, using it to keep Tsunade, who was still out of commission, and serve as a temporary base for military operations. Sasuke’s never been inside, and though Kakashi didn’t specify  _ where  _ to meet him, he chooses not to enter, instead jumping to the flat roof of the building. Kakashi is there, predictably reading his book. One of these days, Sasuke’s going to grab that book and fling it to the Hokage Rock.

“Good afternoon, Sasuke.” Kakashi greets, as Sasuke lands on the roof.

“So?” Sasuke demands, instead of greeting back. “What are we doing?” He knows it’s impossible for them to hold any sort of Chuunin Exams, not with the current state of Konoha anyway, but he doesn’t know what to expect. It’s not like they can afford to waste any resources either just to focus on promoting one genin.

“Well, ideally we’d just promote you to chuunin, no questions asked.” Kakashi replies. “As a former S-class missing nin, you aren’t allowed to take any kind of Chuunin Exams. You’re a walking safety hazard.” Sasuke doesn’t know if that’s a compliment or not, so he doesn’t say anything. “But just giving you the promotion without any effort seems kind of unfair, don’t you think?”

Sasuke shrugs, because he doesn’t really care about ranking in the first place. It doesn’t make him any less skilled. Kakashi’s the one who wanted to change it; not him.

“It won’t be a long process, not one with multiple stages or anything. We’re running on a time limit, you see.” says Kakashi.

The task is sort of similar to the earth-heaven scroll collecting he took back then with Naruto and Sakura. There are fifteen shinobi in the Forest of Death, each with a specific number of points printed on the cloth they’ll be wearing, which is supposedly wrapped around their arm and visible at all times. Sasuke has a day and a half to accumulate  _ at least _ fifteen points by stealing the numbered cloths off his targets in order to pass. Five is the largest number, while one is the smallest. The higher the number, the harder they are to fight.

It’s sort of simple, but the time limit means that Sasuke has to always be on his feet, and his stamina hasn’t been good lately due to the Kyuubi, his body trying to make room for its chakra all while functioning normally so he can move around like he does. Though he thinks they’re doing this on purpose because of his situation, if he can prevail despite his setbacks. And to think tracking the shinobi was supposed to be Sasuke’s only issue. He sort of hopes he’ll be lucky enough that the first three shinobi he’ll discover have five points on them, so he can finish the job quickly. It’d be easier if Kakashi told him how many shinobi had how many points, but Sasuke knows that would take the fun out of it for his teacher.

“I’m basically just tracking and hunting people down.” Sasuke points out. “What does that have to do with being a chuunin?” If anything, it sounds like Anbu work.

“It’s meant to test your ability to strategize how to accomplish your mission in the quickest and most efficient way possible, as well as adapt to the Forest of Death and its predators.” he pauses. “Also, you can’t use your hawks.”

“What? Why?”

“It’d be too easy.” Kakashi answers. “And you’re already good at using them.” He says that, but Kakashi wouldn’t actually know, because he’s never actually seen Sasuke in action with his summons. “You need to try and utilize your other skills.”

As if he doesn’t already. Sasuke sighs but nods. “Anything else?”

“Oh, yeah. You have a restriction for how much damage you can inflict on them. Try to make it as minimal as possible. If you put even a  _ single  _ shinobi in a position they can’t easily recover from, then you fail. Even though lots of people are already healed since Pein’s attack, Sakura would still like to lessen the amount of patients who come in as much as possible.”

Sasuke gives him a flat look. “You can’t be serious.”

“Afraid I am. Jonin Commander’s orders.” Kakashi says. “Though I was hoping that I had trained my student well enough for him to not resort to doing that unless entirely necessary.”

Sasuke continues giving him a dead-eyed stare.

“You can think of this as a solo A-class mission, if you want.” Kakashi adds.

“Whatever.” he huffs. It’s not like Sasuke  _ can’t  _ do it. After all, one of the few rules he first established with Taka when he formed them was that they weren’t allowed to kill anyone except their “goals”. Even when he was training under Orochimaru, unless he was given an explicit order to kill someone, he usually just left them alive but unconscious, or at least unable to continue fighting. Orochimaru had called him soft for that; Kabuto called him merciful. It wasn’t like that — Sasuke just knew it was a lot harder to leave someone alive than dead, and it was the kind of challenge he gave himself to prove how strong he was, to incapacitate without killing. It’s nothing that altruistic.

This test — mission, whatever — is a good way to test if he still has the same restraint he did back then. He hasn’t fought without the true intention to kill in a long, long time.

“Great!” Kakashi claps his hands together. “Time to head to the Forest. I’ll see you at the tower in two days.”

With a Shunshin, Kakashi’s gone. Sasuke follows soon after.

⁂

It’s probably two hours in — he can’t be sure because there’s no way to tell time in the forest, but Sasuke’s lived in Orochimaru’s underground bases for three years, and he’s gotten good at estimation — when he senses a shinobi nearby. He knows that because he’s the only participant, all the other shinobi he’s supposed to go after are concerned for only  _ his  _ presence, and he hopes that his chakra blends well enough with the rest of them for no one to be able to pinpoint whether the person they can sense is him or one of their comrades.

He takes down the first one he finds easy enough. Without even pausing, he jumps down the tree the moment his target comes into view with enough noise to make them look up, and casts a genjutsu over them with his eyes, making them to fall to the ground. He’s wearing an Anbu mask, but he can tell from the flow of chakra his Sharingan lets him see that the genjutsu worked. Genjutsu is the best solution to restriction Kakashi placed on him prior to this test, but he knows it’s not always guaranteed to work. Sasuke bends down and unwraps the cloth on the unconscious shinobi. It says three. Sasuke sighs, but at least it isn’t a one. Only 12 more points left. He hopes the other three’s are as easy to beat, but the element of surprise can only work for so long.

Distantly, he hears the leaves of a bush rustle loudly as he wraps the cloth around the strap of his sword, but he doubts that it’s a shinobi. Likely one of the inhabitants here. He has to mask his scent soon; he’s already made his presence loud enough with his encounter with the first shinobi.

As much as he hates getting dirty, he voluntarily sticks fallen leaves to random parts of his body and uses chakra to keep them there so his scent can be masked with the nature around him. Then he gets soil from the ground and does the same thing. He doesn’t necessarily smell bad, but he doesn’t like it still. Inside, he can see Kyuubi wrinkle his nose, as if he can smell Sasuke. Sasuke wouldn’t actually know, because the Kyuubi seems like the type who does things just to be dramatic.

That shinobi is the only progress he makes for the entire day. By sunset, he still only has one numbered cloth, and he’s tired and hungry. He needs water and food.

Fortunately, he gets to the river quick enough, and summons a water jug with a filter from one of the scrolls he carries that also house all his other essentials and weapons he can’t easily bring along. After he drinks, he decides to make this area his resting spot. He needs food, and considers venturing back into the forest and trees to go search for something, but up ahead, he hears a distinct sound of grunting.

It’s a boar, when he looks, too engrossed in drinking water to pay much attention to his surroundings, much less Sasuke’s presence yards away from him. As quietly as he can, Sasuke draws his sword and does a Shunshin. He reappears right on top of the animal and stabs him straight through. The boar manages a squeal, but otherwise dies pretty easily.

It’s quick work, tearing through the meat and cooking it under the fire he makes. When the moon rises and the meat’s finished cooking, he tears through it with his teeth and leans on a tree. The fire he’s made is big, enough to attract attention and let outsiders know of his location, but he isn’t worried.

Sasuke thinks about how much easier it would be if the shinobi are after him the same way he’s after them, because that way he could just lay a trap and wait until one of them — or a couple them — decides to try and get him, and he wouldn’t have to waste that much energy chasing anybody. If he were Anbu on an assassination mission, that’s a possibility. Sometimes targets try to change their status of prey to predator by going after their killers if they’re confident enough to take them down so they don’t have to worry about trying to escape. Unfortunately, Sasuke isn’t Anbu, and he isn’t on an assassination mission. Kakashi didn’t say that the shinobi wouldn’t be going after him though, so Sasuke keeps his guard up.

His thoughts drift to how he could finish this entire task in a day if he could use his hawks. He probably wouldn’t even need to hurt any of his targets, just distract them long enough for Naoki or another one of the birds to snatch the cloth off them. Then Sasuke can go ride on one of the bigger hawks and soar to the tower without any obstacles. The fact that he can’t do that makes him all the more frustrated. He hates that he can’t do things using the most realistically effective method.

Though he’s exhausted in that kind of pathetic way because he didn’t even do much, there’s something about nature that makes him feel serene and at peace. He’d like to think it’s the lack of people because they always take too much energy for Sasuke, but his hand goes to that center spot in his lower back, and thinks it has something to do with the Kyuubi too.

“So this is the kind of shit you like, huh.” Sasuke says aloud.

_ Oh, so  _ now  _ he talks to me. _ The Kyuubi huffs. Sasuke rolls his eyes and already regrets speaking. Then again, he doesn’t even know why he did it in the first place.

He rests his sheathed sword against his shoulder as he eats. He only has until tomorrow to get the 12 points he needs to pass. It’s a relatively big number, and he isn’t so sure about his luck in somehow running into targets with fives on them. Though he can continue tracking in the evening, unless they make their presence obvious the same way he is, there’s no way he can find them in the dark.

Karin could definitely do it. But her sensing abilities were unique to her, and she had no way of teaching it to others, even with her absolute fondness for Sasuke’s poorly hidden desire to learn it.

There was one thing though, she said, that he could do. A lesser form of what she’s capable of, but efficient nonetheless. A five-second ability of tracking chakra signatures in a certain range by using one of the senses.

“You can sense with all except touch and taste.” Karin had said. “Chakra, whether it be for animals or humans, has a certain image, smell, and sound. If you channel your chakra into your eyes, ears, or nose, you should be able to sense the chakra of whoever you’re searching for in a certain range. However, this ability requires you to stay absolutely still and pour all your concentration into it. Chakra isn’t meant to be directed into sensitive areas like those, after all, so if you pour in a bit too much or don’t do it properly, you’ll destroy that part of your body. So preferably, in your case, never use your eyes. This also has a time limit. If you practice it enough, you could probably use the technique for a lot longer, but five seconds is the limit.” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I can’t exactly describe what chakra of animals and humans look, smell, or sound like, because they say it varies depending on who is doing the tracking, but all species as a whole have a similar framework of chakra to it, and since your Sharingan has the ability to memorize even the smallest of details, you should be able to tell which chakra are ones belonging to humans or not. This won’t be able to help you track certain individuals though. That’s something only experts like I can do.”

“Good enough.” Sasuke says aloud. It’s not like he’s tracking anyone specific anyway; at this point, he doesn’t really have the option of quality over quantity.

He tries to remember the last time he used his Sharingan on anyone, and that was— on Sakura, when she demanded to check up on him shortly after he was released from Konoha’s local prison. He had used his dojutsu then, upon her request, wanting to see if anything had changed since the last time she did a check-up on him, which was right before he was chained and left isolated from the entire population for a few months.

(“Your eyes are a bit better than they were before.” Sakura remarked. “Guess it really was stress from overuse, huh?”

Sasuke didn’t have the heart to educate her about the other price of Mangekyou, besides losing a loved one. If she wanted to think his bad eyesight was a result of exhaustion, then so be it. It was his problem anyway.)

Sasuke activates his Sharingan, and just like that, the memory of Sakura’s chakra comes to mind in exact detail. Though what it looks like is the clearest details, he zeroes in on what he recalls the sound to be — eyes is out of the question, and he doesn’t think he can use his nose as effectively — and comes up with the sound of crackling fire, small but steady, everlasting despite its size.

He glances at the fire he made and realizes it’s perfect. If he ever hears the sound of crackling flames in the Forest of Death, it’s definitely manmade, so even if what he hears  _ isn’t _ chakra of the fourteen shinobi he’s looking for, it’ll be actual fire, one that they’d have made.

It’s risky, having to let his guard down completely, but it’s better than sitting here and wasting the night when he’s already halfway through the exam and barely made any progress. He sets down his guard and folds his legs inwards, resting his palms on his knees as he closes his eyes and concentrates. He channels the chakra inside him and focuses it on his ears, in the same way he’d do it with his hands to create a Chidori, use medical ninjutsu to get rid of scrapes, or be able to give him an extra boost of strength to lift things, but with finer control. He imagines that his chakra liquefies and runs through his veins the same way blood does, but towards the ears, and lets it occupy every inch of that part. He uses the chakra to enhance the hair cells inside and the bones, well aware that if even puts a fraction of more chakra, it’ll burn off the cells and shatter something. It doesn’t count as practice if he’s only done it once so far, so five seconds is really as far as he can go before he loses control.

He takes an even breath and begins counting.

_ One.  _ A quarter of a mile away from him lies nothing unusual. It’s quiet, though he can make out the rustling of trees and the grasshoppers cricketing. The sound is muted.  _ Two.  _ Nothing still, but at the edge is the distinct, faint sound of crackles. It’s moving farther away, so it’s likely a shinobi.  _ Three _ . A mile past, and he can make out the presence of the shinobi he felt earlier a bit more clearly.  _ Four.  _ Searching a bit more, and he finds two more, though they’re far from the one moving. The two are staying together, it seems.  _ Five.  _ He hears the fire again, and directs his attention up. There are three, not necessarily together, but around three to five trees apart, staying by the branches. They’re all stationary.

Sasuke retracts his chakra and lets out a measured breath, surprised at how maintaining control over his chakra while trying to accomplish his objective was a lot harder than he thought. He briefly wonders if he’d have an easier job if he had someone to copy this off, but then erases the thought. There are some things the Sharingan can’t copy, and this happens to be one of them. No dojutsu can teach him patience and control.

Aside from that one shinobi moving, there are five shinobi he can go after. Though it’s hard to see in the dark, using his Sharingan the entire time should help. Fortunately, he has more than enough chakra to accomplish his goal. It’s not like he can injure them that badly anyway. Sasuke grabs his sword and puts out the fire.

_ Impressive, _ the Kyuubi comments begrudgingly.

Sasuke can’t help but smirk as he takes off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part 1/2 of sasuke's unconventional chuunin exam. i made this partly to see sasuke actually get promoted as something higher than genin (i know he doesn't give a shit abt ranking and that he's a s-class missing nin, so it doesn't really matter, but having a genin rank still sounds pretty pathetic), but the exam also has relevance to the fic's main storyline, i promise.


	3. shadow of your wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _You are one truly evil child._ The Kyuubi remarks in the silence.

The first two Sasuke sensed more than a mile ahead are quickly handled— since they’re both resting against the same tree, all it takes is for him to tie them to the trunk with his wires and deliver hefty punches to their guts to render them immobile. The numbers they have are two and four, respectively. One of them had a four, so he should’ve been harder to deal with, but Sasuke isn’t about to complain. Maybe the fact that it’s night makes them lower their guard, which is ignorant of them. Regardless, it’s not like he doesn’t benefit from their carelessness. He only needs six more points. There’s no way he won’t be able to finish this entire task by tonight, seeing as there are still three shinobi he can get the numbers from, and he thinks the likelihood that they only have one point each is low.

Though he can’t do a repeat of that sensing technique, he already has a vague idea on the direction of the area where his remaining targets are. The night feels awfully young, but Sasuke would like to think a sufficient amount of time has passed. He wants to get to the tower by sunrise, so he needs to wrap things up quickly.

He masks his chakra even further when he knows he’s approaching closer and closer. Landing on one of the branches that are high but not as high as where the other shinobi are resting, he looks up and pinpoints their specific locations. The two of them are asleep, and the other is awake, likely on watch duty, but not really paying attention to his surroundings, focused on sharpening his kunai. A Chidori senbon should do the trick, and Sasuke quickly sends them off in three different directions, aiming for vitals of his targets that are just enough to knock them out without sustaining any permanent damage. He hopes Kakashi will be happy.

Except things don’t go according to plan. Though he was able to hit one of the ones asleep, the other suddenly jolts awake just in time and jumps away from the branch by the time his senbon lands. The one on guard duty simply tilts his body in an angle that lets him narrowly divert it, not looking up from his kunai, and Sasuke realizes that he’s likely dealing with shinobi who have four or five points on them here.

Sasuke moves closer as the other two disappear, attempting to get the numbered cloth of the unconscious shinobi he managed to take out, but then one of them appears right in front of him and drives their kunai through him. Sasuke blocks it with his sword, and he sees that his other opponent has snatched the cloth of their defeated comrade. Sasuke lets out a frustrated growl, and uses his free hand not holding the sword to make a Chidori, attempting to pierce through his opponent. They pull back just in time before it can reach them, and places a considerable amount of distance between the two of them. Their teammate lands right beside them. Under the moonlight, Sasuke sees that the cloth wrapped around their arms has the number 5, and they seem a lot more dangerous than the other three he’s already defeated.

“Whoa, there.” the one who attacked him says, and it’s— a girl, Sasuke realizes. Maybe. Her voice sounds like one. “Don’t you remember the rules, kid? Nothing that can put us in critical condition.”

“What did you expect?” says the other— male, this time. “Look at his eyes. It’s the Uchiha brat.”

“The missing nin they decided to pardon? Hm, no wonder he can’t follow rules.” The woman nods. “Once a criminal, always a criminal. Just like his brother.”

Sasuke narrows his eyes, irritation slowly rising. The only people who have ever mentioned Itachi in his presence or to him are Kakashi and Sakura; he doesn’t let anyone else even breathe out his brother’s name, and everyone knows it. “I’d keep quiet if I were you.”

The man snorts. “You’re a sixteen-year old genin against two Anbu; I’d keep quiet if I were _ you_.” he points out. “There aren’t rules prohibiting us from harming you, you know. In fact,” Even though the mask covers his features, Sasuke senses a smirk rising across the other’s face. “Kakashi-san said that we should go all out with you. Must mean he wants you dead, if that’s the case.”

“It’s not as if I can’t see why.” the woman says, appearing from behind Sasuke in a flash, kunai pressed close to his throat. “Those eyes are dangerous.”

This is a test, but the threat feels real — not only because of the rather taunting way they spoke to him, but also because of the killing intent he can feel radiating off of the Anbu woman behind him. It’s possible to have a strong killing intent even if you don’t really intend to kill someone, however; Sasuke has long mastered the art of doing that to know. Despite the possibility though, this doesn’t feel like some kind of elaborate joke. He’s unsure on what to do, doesn’t know if he still has to abide to the rules when he likely won’t make it out alive if he doesn’t show the same aim to kill. These aren’t shinobi he can underestimate.

A bead of sweat trickles down his head as he looks at both his opponents from his peripheral, cautiously waiting for their next move. What they do will decide his own course of action; he just has to be fast enough to not sustain any critical damage to whatever they’ll choose to pull.

“Ready to meet your family soon, boy?” muses the woman, licking her lips, and it’s then does his Sharingan catch the edge of a black marking on her tongue, one that Sasuke recognizes well because it’s Danzo’s trademark curse seal.

(_“Be careful, Sasuke.” _ Shisui used to tease him, years ago, because Sasuke was always took the most reckless course of action to get more attention and Itachi spoiled him too much to really scold him for that. _ “If you don’t do as the grown-ups say, the demon Danzo will take you and put a curse on your tongue so you can never disobey him ever again.” _

Itachi simply shook his head in exasperation at Shisui’s tactic to try and get Sasuke to listen, but his eyes look haunted.

“_Sasuke_,” Itachi told him later, when Shisui had gone home and Mikoto was still preparing for dinner. Fugaku wasn’t home yet, and Sasuke followed Itachi into his room. He sounded serious and afraid, which felt odd, because Sasuke was four and Itachi was fearless and invincible to him. _ “If you ever run into anyone with a black marking on their tongue and they try to approach you, run.” _)

It’s the sight of that, as well as her own words, that decides the Anbu woman’s fate.

In less than a second, he grabs onto the kunai close to his neck and pulls it forward. It forces the woman to move forward as well, caught off guard with his sudden display of brashness, but she doesn’t even have time to react, because Sasuke’s eyes start to bleed as he places her under Tsukuyomi.

As he watches the woman crumble to the ground, unconscious, Sasuke starts feeling disconnected, senses muddling themselves and focus becoming foggy. He can distantly hear the other Root member shout in alarm, before a whoosh emerges and ends with the sound of something piercing flesh. When Sasuke looks down at his right side, which began to vaguely throb, he sees that shuriken have lodged themselves in his right arm. The information that he’s been injured processes very slowly, because the loudest thing in his head is the repeated jeer of the woman’s, _ “ready to meet your family soon, boy?” _ and _ “just like your brother” _.

They don’t deserve to mention his brother, what more like _ that _, when they didn’t know him, nor of anything he gave up and carried with him all for the sake of the village. 

It’s despicable. 

“No,” Sasuke responds out loud, and his voice is even, vision completely red. He’s so angry that it’s almost calming. “Are you?”

When he takes a step forward, the Root member visibly shakens. Sasuke wants to laugh, wondering where all the other’s bravado went off to. Sasuke takes another step, and that seems to snap the Root member out of his fear, because he creates an earth wall meant to box Sasuke in. Not even a moment’s hesitation passes before Sasuke breaks through it with his Chidori, and the man is stupid enough to still be in front of it when Sasuke makes it past his technique. He dispels the lightning just in time to grab his opponent by the throat, lifting him up to his toes with ease.

“Yo— you,” the man tries to say. Sasuke loosens his grip by a fraction. “You won’t pass the test.”

Sasuke tilts his head in mock consideration. “Hn.” It wasn’t like he cared about whether he’d remain a genin for the rest of his life anyway. Ranking doesn’t make him any less skilled, and power is all he really cares about.

“You’ll be revoked of your shinobi status. In fact, you should’ve been from the _ start_.” the man practically spits. The saliva hits Sasuke in the face, but he doesn’t even blink. “There’s a reason why psychopaths like you aren’t fit for service.”

“Is that so,” Sasuke muses, damaged arm rising up to take off the man’s Anbu mask. The latter makes a noise of alarm at his identity being exposed, but that’s his mistake, because he makes eye contact with Sasuke, and the younger puts him under the same genjutsu he put the woman in. The Root member immediately slackens under his hold, and Sasuke lowers his arm, letting the unconscious man fall to the ground like his partner.

_ You are one truly evil child. _ The Kyuubi remarks in the silence.

Sasuke simply closes his eyes. When he opens them, he’s standing in front of the bijuu’s chasm. Something seems different from before, and he realizes that it’s because it looks like the pit has grown larger, and the blanket of darkness that usually hides the Kyuubi’s body from view has receded in lieu of transforming into black binds that hold him down. “Well, you look like you’re having a fun time.”

_ Your chakra’s gone cold, _ the Kyuubi points out, like he doesn’t notice the newfound bounds on him. _ All that just because someone damaged your precious ego and had a certain seal on their tongue? _

A flare of anger surges through Sasuke, and the bonds that hold the Kyuubi down reaches out and wraps itself around the fox’s mouth, clamping it shut. It’s— it’s new information, but he isn’t really in any state to let it sink in.

“You wouldn’t understand.” Sasuke says coolly.

_ I suppose not. _ The beast sneers against the restraints. _ Not all evil understands other evil. _

Sasuke’s about to reply to that, but suddenly he notices the markings around the pit. Sixteen black swirls, likely what’s causing the seal to strengthen and bring the Kyuubi to this state. The symbol of his seal and Naruto’s. 

But there’s another memory that clicks, just then, when he remembers that it’s also embroidered into Konoha’s flak jackets and Naruto’s clothing. It was never that obvious to him because of the color, and he’s never seen it as often as he does now. It was the Uzumaki clan emblem, Kakashi had said, and thinking about Kakashi, thinking about _ Naruto _, who Sasuke has always automatically associated with something so irritatingly bright, makes all that pent up darkness in him deflate. His anger immediately washes away, and he finds himself back in the forest, no longer in the subconscious plane created for the fox.

Sasuke doesn’t know how long he stands there in his quiet surroundings, but when a branch snaps, he turns to the direction of the sound, and sees a crow perched in the branch a few feet above him.

“Are you disappointed in me, nii-san?” Sasuke asks the crow rather idly. “Or proud, because I finally learned how to use the genjutsu you’re so infamously known for?”

The crow doesn’t reply; it simply caws before flapping its wings. It doesn’t leave though. Sasuke sighs and turns away. The Kyuubi is quiet this time, but he thinks it’s because of the seal. He thinks, rather distantly, that Kakashi should’ve just enhanced his seal’s capabilities to get the job done quicker.

He bends down to the male shinobi, since he’s the closest to Sasuke, and checks his pulse. He’s still alive, thankfully, not weak enough to die from mental torture alone, though Sasuke supposes he should’ve expected it, because he’s a Root member. The Foundation isn’t exactly an organization for the weak-hearted, after all.

It’s a Tsukuyomi in its truest form, but since it’s Sasuke’s first time using it, it’s not as lethal as Itachi’s. The damage shouldn’t be too bad, not like his own experience or Kakashi’s, the kind that only Tsunade could fix. 

There’s also the fact that Sasuke’s a lot more creative than his brother. His Tsukuyomi can only last for seven seconds, and the moment those seconds are up, victims are supposed to forget the entire experience even happened, so their brains should wake them up soon. The other effects of Tsukuyomi, however — the nightmares, the probable ticks, likely future fears and trauma for certain events or objects that remind them of the torture they underwent in the genjutsu — will remain; they just won’t know the cause of it. It was quick-thinking on Sasuke’s part, done less to ensure that the Root members won’t remember what he did to them and more to scar them in a way that’s unsolvable. They can’t heal if they can’t remember what needs healing. It should work, in theory. Sasuke may not have ever practiced it, but he’s read the Uchiha scrolls Itachi amassed over his years as a missing nin about the jutsu and knows how to use it. Actually activating was really just something beyond him until this point. 

_ Evil_. The Kyuubi had said, and he’s— he’s right. Sasuke doesn’t feel bad about placing them under that kind of Tsukuyomi, just bad that he lost his cool like that so easily. With his adrenaline fading, he realizes how much chakra he’s lost, and how he can barely feel his right arm. There’s not enough energy in him to even attempt to heal himself, and he knows that his medical ninjutsu skills can only heal scratches at best and provide a numbing solution. He’s tried to advance before, but that’s as far as he can go, which frustrated him to no end, not being able to master something. Kabuto had only laughed and said, “It wouldn’t be fair to the rest of us if you geniuses could do everything, would it?” Sasuke hasn’t tried improving his skill since. He had other things to worry about.

The last three shinobi each had five points on them, so Sasuke’s objective is already accomplished, with 24 points. The crow caws once more before finally leaving, and Sasuke takes that as his cue to do the same too.

By some miracle, he gets to the tower by sunrise, like he intended to. As he makes his way to the entrance, he wonders what’ll happen if it turns out Kakashi does know what he did to those Root members. The thought of failing doesn’t bother him so much because he knows there are worse things his teacher can do besides fail him on his special chuunin qualification exam. As infuriating as those Root shinobi were, they were right. He’d definitely get stripped of his status as a shinobi, and that’s the least of it. There’s a bigger chance they’ll throw him right back in prison, only this time, with no chance of getting out anytime soon. It doesn’t help that he’s technically still on probationary period.

_ Well_, Sasuke thinks to himself. _ It’s not like I can run away from it. Not with these injuries anyway. _

Sasuke pushes one of the doors open with his left hand, and sure enough, Kakashi is there, waiting a few feet away, reading his book like he always does.

“Yo,” Sasuke greets, before tossing his sword at Kakashi, with all the numbered cloths wrapped around its strap. Kakashi looks down at the weapon before looking at Sasuke, and his one gray eye goes wide in surprise. Sasuke lips curl up slightly. He wonders how shitty he looks. He went straight here the moment he was done, so he hadn’t bothered to patch up the cuts on his right arm. All he did was dislodge the shuriken, but the wounds were deep, and now they just bleed sluggishly. He stinks of mud and earth from the camouflage tactic he did in the beginning of the exam, and he’s aware that there’s dried blood on his face from using the Mangekyou. 

He’d be a lot more worried if not for the fact that the Kyuubi hadn’t done anything to heal him. At least that’s a sign that his injuries aren’t enough to actually kill him. 

(Not that it makes the blood loss anymore worrying, but Kakashi is here, so he’ll probably be fine. Somehow.) 

Kakashi clicks his tongue as he looks at his student’s state. “And to think I was going to congratulate you for finishing a day earlier than the deadline.”

Sasuke manages to mockingly salute before he falls to the ground, completely exhausted.

⁂

“Oi,” Naruto says, and his face hasn’t been this close to Sasuke’s in _ years_. They’re only inches apart, and Sasuke finds himself staring in awe at how _ blue _Naruto’s eyes are as the words of the blonde slowly sink in. “You’re crowding in my personal space. How about you back off a little?”

For a moment, he wonders if everything was just a dream. He can feel Naruto breathing through his nose, and the bed he’s in— the pillows, the bedsheets, the blanket — feel real; even the ceiling fan right above them. He swears if he leans just a bit more forward, his head could bump the other’s nose, and Naruto’s morning snot would probably get in his hair.

Then he realizes that no— _ this _is the dream.

“How about you fuck off and stop showing up first,” Sasuke grumbles in reply, but he does pull back a little, because he realizes that Naruto’s actually right. In the bed they’re in, Sasuke’s trespassing Naruto’s half by leaning his body forward and dipping his head down. “Besides, since when did an affection freak like you ever know the concept of ‘personal space’?”

Naruto rolls his eyes as Sasuke sits up and starts to leave the bed. “I’m not an ‘affection freak’. I’m touch-starved! There’s a difference! I’d say you should know what that’s like, but you’re the freak who avoids it more than anyone else.”

Comments like those that involve referencing things about his past life always ruffle him best, but Sasuke doesn’t say anything because he has better things to do, and stands up before beginning to look around. He recognizes the place, vaguely. It’s a cramped and cluttered space as a whole, with kunai stuck to random parts of the walls in a half-hearted attempt for target practice (or hanging, based on how Naruto’s blue and black hitai-ate are pinned together with shuriken beside what he assumes to be the bathroom door), rumpled clothes and dusty books pushed to the side to clear the floor, unfinished ramen cups on the table and unclean utensils by the sink.

Not even Suigetsu was ever this untidy. 

He frowns. “Why are we in your apartment?”

“How should I know?” Naruto says, also making a move to get up. “Your mind’s the one who recreated it.” 

Naruto’s in his pajamas, and Sasuke is too. The floorboards creak when Sasuke walks, only adding to the realism. He doesn’t know how he managed to recreate Naruto’s apartment to this extent when he was only there once, and that was shortly after the mission in the Land of Waves. There aren’t any walls to separate the rooms though, which is the only thing that makes it obvious that this isn’t actually reality. This is a different scene than before, the last time he dreamt and Naruto was there. Was that only a few days ago?

Sasuke walks to the window of the dining area to look outside. Though above, there’s a blue sky, which isn’t that unusual, right below them is water, and beyond them lies nothing. It’s an exact mirror of the place he was in last time before realizing a second later that it _ is _the very same place he was in, but with the addition of Naruto’s apartment, which is the only infrastructure here in the middle of nowhere.

“What the fuck,” says Sasuke.

“What?” Naruto asks, and he heads towards him and peers over with his head nearly resting on Sasuke’s shoulder to look.

Sasuke lifts his shoulder to hit Naruto in the chin. The latter howls and Sasuke walks away from the window. “This place is fucking ridiculous.”

Naruto rubs his chin as he turns to Sasuke. “Well, it _ is _your head, so I’m not exactly surprised.”

Pulling up a chair and sitting on it with the backrest at his front, Sasuke presses his hands into his face, feeling fed up and tired, even if he’s really just dreaming. So much for never being a dreamer. Twice is already too much for him. “What does this mean? That I’ll be seeing your ugly mug every time I go to sleep?”

“Who the fuck are you calling ugly?” Naruto glares at him and points his finger at him menacingly. “I’ll have you know that lots of girls have had a thing or two for me during the years you were gone!”

“Good to know.” Sasuke flatly replies, except he can’t really grasp the thought of Naruto being popular with the ladies. Or rather, he doesn’t really want to.

“But I think you only stop by when you’re particularly out of it.” Naruto admits. “You’re probably going to be stuck here for a while too. Your body needs a lot of rest to make up for all its lost.”

The events he experienced right before coming here suddenly come back to him. He thinks of the two Root members and then finally seeing Kakashi the moment he entered the tower. He doesn’t remember if Kakashi mentioned anything about the last two shinobi. “I think I fucked that up.”

Naruto hums. “Does it count when you don’t even feel guilty over it?”

Sasuke glares at him. “You expect me to?”

“I never said that.” Naruto tells him, leaning on the table. “Hey, Sasuke.”

“What?”

“Do you know why you found yourself sleeping beside me when you came here?”

“No.”

Naruto looks at him smugly. “That’s because you’re actually into me. This is like, your sex dream scape.”

A kunai flies past Naruto, and though it lands on the wall, a few strands of blonde hair fall off and there’s a cut on his cheek. “I dare you to say another word.” Sasuke says, because he knows that this place he’s in could be anything, but it certainly isn’t _ that_. “Just because you’re in my head doesn’t mean I can’t beat the shit out of you.”

Naruto simply sighs. “You’re no fun, you know. Three years later and you still can’t take a joke.”

“Sorry if not all of us can find joy in the stupidest things like you.” Sasuke huffs.

“Anyways,” Naruto waves a hand. “Do you remember the last time we did something like that? Sleep toge—” Sasuke glares at him. “—in the same bed?”

Sasuke’s about to say he doesn’t know, but then he remembers. They had a mission shortly after Tsunade’s rise to Hokage and Sasuke’s recovery. Sasuke was generally so high-strung during the events between waking up from his encounter with Itachi and deserting the village that the mundane things that occurred in between felt too foggy for him to really remember, almost to the point where he was convinced nothing happened besides his fight with Naruto, Kakashi threatening him, and the Sound Four trying to push him to leave.

“During a C-rank mission,” Sasuke says, if his memory is correct. A fairly well-off farmhouse owner in the Land of Fire wanted Team 7 to deal with the wild beasts in the forest his lot was beside that were scaring off all his animals. It was a two-day mission, just because the forest was so large and their client wanted them to hunt down the strongest one of the species, so that the rest of the creatures would be intimidated enough to never bother him and his livelihood again.

Sasuke doesn’t even recall the animal they were tracking down. All he really remembers is their sleeping arrangements. The client had two guest rooms and insisted that Sakura sleep in his old daughter’s room because she was the only girl. Kakashi took one of the rooms, and Naruto and Sasuke had the share the other. Sasuke was irritable with everyone if he wasn’t blatantly ignoring them, but Naruto still couldn’t get the hint.

“Tell me a bedtime story.” Naruto had said in the middle of the night. They were both on the bed because they refused to sleep on the dirty floor. Sasuke figured he could deal with it as long as he didn’t face the other, but as always, Naruto was making it hard.

“Fuck off, dead last.” Sasuke hissed. “I’m trying to sleep here. Tell yourself one.”

“But I don’t know any.” He wasn’t looking, but he could tell Naruto was pouting. Sasuke wanted to turn around just to punch him in the face, and maybe that would actually get him to shut up, but turning around meant looking at him, and he didn’t want to do that. Sometimes when he’d accidentally look to Naruto or at his direction he’d immediately remember the summoning technique he used when he fought Gaara and how he defeated the Sand shinobi when Sasuke couldn’t, and it made him angry, because that meant Naruto suddenly became someone strong. Sasuke didn’t want to feel that when he was supposed to be resting. “I grew up never having that sort of thing in my life, you know?”

“Like I care.” Sasuke said. “Read a fucking book on bedtime stories next time.”

“Where?”

“The library, idiot. That’s where you get everything.”

“What library?”

“In—” Sasuke stopped. He didn’t actually know where Konoha’s public library was in, if there even was one in the first place. He did know the one in the Uchiha district— the archives in a small bookshop a few houses away from the Naka Shrine. Before Itachi became a chuunin, he, Shisui, and Sasuke would sneak in there to look for books to read while all the adults had their meetings in the shrine because they weren’t allowed inside the shop without permission. Shisui would pick the books that were interesting to read, hand it to Itachi, and Itachi would read them to Sasuke, because he had a nice story-telling voice. Sometimes Itachi would use his Sharingan to memorize some stories he didn’t have time to tell Sasuke at that moment and reserve it for right before they went to sleep. There was always something interesting to tell; the Uchiha had countless myths that depicted and explained many things about their history in the most fantastical way possible.

Thinking of Itachi hurt, which Sasuke hadn’t felt in a while, because it really just made him _ angrier_, especially with their last run-in with each other, so he thought of Shisui instead. There was only one legend that Shisui would tell Sasuke over and over again.

“If you don’t sleep,” Sasuke finally told Naruto. “The demon Danzo will come and tear your eyes out. So shut up and stop bugging me already. I’m not helping you when he comes.”

“Danzo? Who’s that?” Sasuke stopped replying after that, and drowned out everything around him because he was tired. “Sasuke? Oi, Sasuke!”

The tale, to be specific, went like this: the demon Danzo was a greedy spirit who stole the senses of children who didn’t follow the rules or their parents during the dead of night, when the victim would be in deep sleep, to make himself stronger and protect his special garden, where he harvested the body parts he’d snatch away until he found a use for them. He had roots for hands and sunk them into the earth to search for prey, but sometimes the delinquent and lost kids that tended to wander in the night would stumble into his garden by accident, and he’d take them instead if his search was unsuccessful. If you said his name five times within three minutes, he’d supposedly appear before you, and steal your ability to speak.

Years later, Sasuke learned that the tale didn’t originate from Uchiha myths, but from the Anbu. That Danzo wasn’t just a fairytale, but an actual person from Konoha. An elder, to be specific. The one who created an organization composed of children with no backgrounds that were trained into soldiers loyal to him alone, supposedly disbanded, though they were rumored to still be active, working below even the shadows. The one who disliked the Uchiha clan the most out of everyone in the entire council and eventually ordered Itachi to annihilate his own family for the flimsy excuse of “peace”. 

(During one of Kakashi’s biweekly visits to Sasuke’s cell while he was in prison, he once asked him, “Why didn’t you come back?”

Sasuke thought of Shisui wagging his finger tauntingly at Sasuke and Itachi trembling in that subtle way that no one could sense but his own little brother as he told him to run if he ever came across one of Danzo’s men.

“There’s a demon here,” he simply replied, and he wasn’t talking about the thing inside Naruto that was now inside him.)

“Naruto,” Sasuke starts. “Do you know who Danzo is?”

Naruto glances at him with an unreadable look on his face before gazing elsewhere. “Don’t ask me. Ask the real one.”

“Why not?”

“Because you know my answer.” Naruto says. “You made me, after all. Like you how made him.” He points past Sasuke, and the latter feels a creeping sense of apprehension crawling under his skin.

He slowly turns around. By the door is a figure, half-man and half-not, with the appearance of an old man on one side, and a monster composed of different body parts stuck in all the wrong places on the other. He’s stained with blood, but it’s obvious that it doesn’t belong to him.

Somehow, Sasuke knows that he is Shimura Danzo.

⁂

“It’s been less than a week since I’ve seen you,” Naoki states. “And this is what happens.”

“You missed a lot.” Sasuke stiffly replies, and throws another shuriken at the target with his left hand. It hits bulls-eye easily. His chakra’s almost replenished, but his right arm is in a sling. Sakura could probably heal it in no time, but she’s busy, being the co-head of the hospital alongside Shizune, so he had to settle for a non-shinobi nurse to patch him up, because there isn’t a single person knowledgeable in medical ninjutsu who is willing to treat him that isn’t his ex-teammate. Having one arm incapacitated means his balance is a bit off, but at least it doesn’t deter his skills. It’s a good thing that he’s ambidextrous. “How did you get here anyway? I didn’t summon you.”

Naoki flies down from the branch and onto Sasuke’s shoulder. “The other night, your chakra seemed different.”

“I used up half of it.”

The hawk shakes his head. “Not that.” he says slowly. “It was boiling. It felt a lot like the Kyuubi’s mostly dormant dark chakra, only . . . not.”

Funny, because the fox himself said his chakra went cold. Sasuke understands the implications of the words though. He never realized that his chakra changed based on strong emotions, but Shisui always did say they were a clan that was ruled by their heart rather than their mind. The way to acquire the Sharingan alone was telling proof of that.

“I got worried, but I had to wait until your chakra went back to normal for me to bring myself here. I almost thought that the Kyuubi had somehow taken over.” He looks down at Sasuke’s injury with disdain. “Why did you not call for me?”

“I had to take a practical test.” Sasuke says. “Kakashi said I wasn’t allowed to summon you. Part of the rules.”

“Was it worth it?”

Sasuke shrugs. “Probably not.”

He hadn’t slept at all since the exam, which was yesterday, if you don’t count passing out for half the day. Last night, he only got an hour’s worth of rest. It’s not because of either the Kyuubi — who hasn’t spoken a word since the Forest of Death — or Naruto — who is definitely something his subconscious conjured up — but because of his paranoia, thinking of all the ways he fucked up by using Tsukuyomi one those two Root members. He came up with ten different ways on getting out by the time the sun rose, and they all ended with him joining Suigetsu and Juugo, because he couldn’t think of any other place to go or thing to do.

(That realization was a big wake-up call to Sasuke, because it signified how aimless he truly became since Itachi’s death. Or not necessarily _ aimless_, but that he couldn’t have goals without them being incredibly risky on his behalf.

“You’re just too uptight, Sasuke.” Suigetsu had said in response to that, though Sasuke never really verbalized it. Taka was always strangely good at reading his mind, which was why he rarely felt the need to talk. “Maybe if you had sex, you’d loosen up a little.”)

Sasuke plucks his shuriken from the target, deciding that he might as well head back. He doesn’t feel like training anymore, and he’s already done with his daily routine to stay in shape. It was one of the few things he missed doing while he was in prison, where he was basically immobile.

“I used to think that the Kyuubi’s regenerative abilities were automatic.” Naoki suddenly says, as he flies a bit ahead of Sasuke, like he’s showing Sasuke the way back to the compound, as if he didn’t know. “Father says it’s the greatest strength of the fox.”

“It’s dependent on the seal, probably.” Sasuke says. He knows it was automatic for Naruto, whether or not the Kyuubi actually wanted to give him the ability. “The fox has monopoly over his power this time, and he definitely doesn’t want to use it on me.” The only reason the Kyuubi’s healing kicked in last week was because Kakashi intimidated the fox enough for him to actually activate it.

“So, what, he’ll never heal you?”

“Unless I’m on the verge of dying.” Sasuke says, after a beat of silence. “I don’t think it’ll benefit him if his container is dead.”

“Morbid.”

“You’re the one who asked.”

“How much do you know about that fox?”

“Only a bit.” he admits, because it doesn’t help that he’s never actually had a decent conversation with the Kyuubi. Most of what he knows, he knows from Konoha. Since the Kyuubi had always been in Konoha’s hands, there’s a lot of information about it that had been accumulated over the years. Though Sasuke spent three months in the village’s prison blinded and bound, they gave him scrolls containing data about the fox to starve off his boredom. Those scrolls turned out to be Uzumaki ones, much to his surprise, except it made sense, because you could tell a clan was ancient if valuable information came from scrolls rather than books, though he never figured this out until way later. To read it, Sasuke would have to trace his fingers over the characters, which were elevated. It took a long time just to decipher even a single paragraph, but it wasn’t like he had anything better to do. Most of the content there was half from the experience of actual jinchuuriki, and the rest were from the Uzumaki clan themselves, since it was always their members who carried the fox.

Kakashi said they were a clan that specialized in fuinjutsu, but the scrolls also said that they were known for their longevity and sturdy bodies. They were the only ones really capable of hosting such humongous chakra without any repercussions on their bodies. It’s why Naruto was never in pain the same way Sasuke is; he came from a strong clan, just like Sasuke. 

And just like him, that clan was no longer there.

“Does Yashiro want to know?” Sasuke asks Naoki. “Is that why he’s making you ask?”

Naoki nods. “It interests him. We’ve never had a contract with a jinchuuriki before, so we don’t actually know much.”

“Technically, I don’t either.” Sasuke says. “I’m the first person who isn’t an Uzumaki to have the Kyuubi.” All the information the scrolls have about how a non-Uzumaki body will respond to the fox’s chakra is purely theoretical. It’s ridiculously accurate so far though. He appreciates that the clan at least acknowledged the possibility of the Kyuubi being sealed in someone who wasn’t an Uzumaki. Otherwise, Sasuke would’ve been left in the dark even more, and though it wouldn’t change what was coming to him, at least he wasn’t ignorant of it. “That means that my circumstances are different from other jinchuuriki with other bijuu. I’m not exactly a great start.”

He began feeling those episodes of discomfort and pain within the first two weeks after hosting the jinchuuriki, and from then, it became something that just came and went. The thing is, Sasuke’s aware that it’s not exactly the Kyuubi’s fault for the chakra rejection, because it’s Sasuke’s body’s way of trying to adapt to its new situation, the sudden existence of this foreign entity and contemplating on whether to not to try and eliminate it or co-exist with it. His body has become a battlefield, so casualties are inevitable. Still, the Kyuubi can make things worse by expelling more chakra than what’s already flowing into Sasuke, which is what causes his body to react in worse ways than before— coughing out blood being one of them.

In truth, that incident last week wasn’t the first time it happened — he grew even more used to the smell of blood in his prison at the second week — but it was the first time it was that bad. He thinks it’s because the fox likely got fed up with something, but Sasuke, until now, doesn’t really want to bother figuring out what.

Naoki shrugs. “As long as we have something. Masaki also says that if we have enough information, then maybe we can do something to fix the way your body is reacting to the beast’s chakra.”

“Don’t bother.” Sasuke says. “It’s supposed to adjust to it at some point.”

“How long ‘till then?”

“The scrolls said a year.” The Kyuubi could probably do something to shorten it, or lengthen it, but that’s where the information stops. Speculations can only go so far. No one knows if he’ll live through this or die. It depends on what gives out first, in the end; the Kyuubi’s chakra, or his body. He doesn’t know if Kakashi or Yamato are aware of it, but based on how Naoki sounds, his hawks likely do, even if Sasuke has never said a word about it to anyone. They can tell, after all, since they’re in-tune with his chakra.

“We are worried.” says Naoki quietly.

Sasuke thinks it’s unnecessary. He doesn’t want their worry. He thinks he gets enough of that from his own peers, even the ones he’s not that close to, and until now, he’s still unfamiliar with it. Can’t even tell if he particularly likes it or not.

“Worry when I’m not there anymore.” Sasuke replies. Past the trees, he can already spot the Uchiha houses. Naoki simply flies ahead, understanding the end of a conversation when he hears one.

⁂

Since the Hokage’s Office was inside the Academy, and that place was one of the things Pein completely destroyed, Kakashi tells Sasuke to meet him back in the Hokage Residence for his results. Until now, the Academy is still in the process of being rebuilt. It’s supposedly because they’re remodeling the entire thing.

They’ve made one of the rooms inside the Hokage’s Residence into the temporary office, and it more or less looks like a carbon copy of how Sasuke remembered the Hokage’s Office to be. It even has windows that give a nice view of the Hokage Rock and the infrastructure below it.

Though it’s a substitute place, the one who stands in the chair where Tsunade should be is Nara Shikaku, with Yamanaka Inoichi and Kakashi on each side. Sasuke isn’t sure if this means Shikaku is acting as pseudo-Hokage in Tsunade’s absence, but last he checked, Shikamaru’s dad is still the Jonin Commander.

Sasuke doesn’t ask. When Pakkun came while Sasuke was waiting at the Hokage Residence’s front door and guided him to this room, all the dog said was, “_Good luck, kid. _” He takes it as a message to be careful with what he says. 

“Good morning, Sasuke.” Kakashi greets, chirpy as always. For once, his book isn’t out, but his posture is slouched as it usually is, and instead of holding his porno, there are a few papers in his hands. “You look refreshed.”

Sasuke can’t help but scowl. He knows he looks like absolute shit.

Inoichi awkwardly clears his throat. “Nice of you to join us, Sasuke.” he says, pulling up a chair to sit beside Shikaku. Sasuke simply nods. “Now, let’s talk about how you performed in this test a few days ago at the Forest of Death.”

He’d been tense the entire way here, but now, he just feels tired. Idly, he thinks about his chances of making it out alive on the off-chance he’d have to make a break for it. He accounted for Kakashi and some Anbu, but didn’t anticipate Inoichi and Shikaku’s presence, and since they’re both exceptional users of techniques that involve subduing enemies, Sasuke knows he has no chance of escape. Might as well throw all his plans out the window.

“Right. Now I’m sure Kakashi already told you when you finished,” Inoichi starts. “But you passed. With flying colors, I might add.”

Sasuke blinks. There are a ton of things running through his mind, but what comes out is, “No, he didn’t.”

“I did.” Kakashi argues. “It’s just that you, y’know, passed out before you heard it.”

Inoichi sighs as he gives Kakashi a put-upon glance, before turning back to Sasuke. “Some points were supposed to be deducted since you didn’t come back in the best of shape, but even if we did that, you technically still fulfilled all the requirements and met our expectations, so it doesn’t matter. So now you’re a chuunin. Congratulations, kid.”

It’s not really an accomplishment to be proud of, because the majority of his peers are already chuunin or even higher, and Itachi made chuunin at 10, but good news is still good news. And more importantly, it means that his memory-erasure worked after all. Sasuke lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, sir.”

“However, your promotion is not why you were summoned here today.” Shikaku suddenly speaks. “There’s a reason why we decided to give you a special exam to advance in rank.”

“This is because you can’t take on this particular mission if you’re not _ at least _ at chuunin rank and higher. It’s part of the rules; even if your skills are above jonin level, if your rank is genin, then you can’t partake in missions like these. That’s why we gave you that test.” Kakashi explains. “The only exception to this is if you’re a genin accompanied by other experienced chuunin or jonin.”

“Unfortunately,” Shikaku inputs. “This will be a solo mission for you. The nature of the work is B-rank, but in terms of how dangerous it is, it’s been labeled as A-rank, possible S-rank.”

Sasuke raises an eyebrow. Right off the bat, a mission. And a high-ranking one too. He’s aware that he’s done things that would be merited as S-rank if they were ever missions— namely killing Akatsuki members, who were all S-rank criminals, but he hasn’t had an official, village-authorized mission in forever, so he feels strange, almost nervous upon hearing it. The tasks Orochimaru had given him during his stay there don’t count, because Otogakure under his rule wasn’t really a village in the first place. “Konoha is low on manpower though.” he points out. “Are you sure this is the best time to send me off on a mission this big?”

“Positive.” Shikaku says. “Have you ever heard of Taiyou Fortress?”

“I know a bit about it.” Sasuke answers after a thoughtful pause. “Why?”

“There have been rumors circulating that the prisoners are planning to unite and stage a revolt to not only escape, but to also take advantage of Konoha’s weakened state by trying to invade it. Word has gotten around that our defenses are down, and many of the competent guards that usually maintain order there are dismissed of their jailer jobs to return to Konoha. Security has gone lax there, so it’s making the prisoners all the more motivated to take action and do something.” explains Shikaku. “Your mission will be to infiltrate the prison to find out if these rumors are true, and if so, eliminate whoever is in-charge before their plan pushes through.”

Infiltration and possible assassination. “So that’s why my Chuunin Exam was mirroring the basic Anbu job description.” Sasuke says. It was a test for them to see if he could do that sort of task well. And this isn’t a job typically meant for a chuunin, he knows that. He also knows all three adults here know that. It’s probably the lowest ranking that’ll allow him to accept this mission though, and it’s not like he’s inexperienced.

Shikaku nods. “It hasn’t been made public yet that you’re back in Konoha. As far as everyone but our village is concerned — and not even everyone here knows — you’re still a S-rank missing nin and on every bingo book. That’s why you’re the only person we can send in to do this job.”

Sasuke tilts his head. “Why not send someone in as a jailer too? That way you can enforce security _ and _keep an eye on the prisoners from a safe distance.”

“Having a shinobi pose as a prisoner can get us better access to their plans. We also have reason to suspect that the employees remaining there have been compromised somehow. We can’t even contact the warden.” Inoichi says. “We were thinking about risking one of our men, but if the security _ has _been compromised, then they’ll know our intention, since the only shinobi capable of accomplishing this mission are people like him.” He points to Kakashi. “You’re the only one who can do this without being suspected. You haven’t even been officially reinstated yet, since we’ve had to focus on more important things first.”

Sasuke would be offended, but the fact remains that not prioritizing him just yet has worked in their favor for this mission. Konoha’s favor, anyway. “What did the guards who came back here say?”

“Nothing substantial. Even when we did a mind-sweep on them, they had nothing.” Inoichi shakes his head. “Really, we’re only acting on suspicion. But we can’t risk not doing anything in the possibility that something dangerous _ is _brewing. Hopefully, the rumors will be completely baseless.”

“So my mission will be a complete waste of time.”

Shikaku’s eyes have a peculiar glint in them. “Our goal is to avoid any kind of conflict while Konoha is in a state of disarray. Not all of us are fighting freaks like you, kid.”

Sasuke scoffs.

“Here’s the file on all the details of your mission.” Kakashi says, handing him a brown envelope. Sasuke accepts it and opens the flap. “Only Sharingan-users can read it. It’ll set itself on fire the moment you’re finished with it.”

Sasuke isn’t even going to begin trying to figure out how Kakashi managed to do something like that. From his Uchiha friend that gave him his Sharingan, maybe. “Handy.”

Kakashi hums. “Before we dismiss you, any questions?”

⁂

“I know I told Kakashi that I didn’t want any patients coming in from your special Chuunin Exam, but when I said that, I meant you too, you know.” Sakura tuts disapprovingly, eyeing the sling Sasuke has on when he enters her tent.

At her request, he sits down on the cot. “I guess that means I won’t be getting any congratulations?” He inquires as he removes the sling to let Sakura get a good look at his injury.

“Congratulations on finally catching up to the rest of us.” Sakura says in a flat voice, but she kisses Sasuke’s cheek anyway as she starts healing his arm. Sasuke would try and rub it away if not for the fact that he knows it would piss Sakura off, and he didn’t come here to get injured even more. “God, they really did a number on you. What happened to being one of the strongest shinobi in the world?”

“I never said that.”

Sakura hums. “You’re right. Naruto did.” she says. “Well, now he’s the only one left who hasn’t been promoted.”

“Once a dead last, always a dead last.”

Sakura smiles and pulls away, already finished healing Sasuke’s arm. She touches the scars the wounds have left, one on his forearm, and two above his elbow. “As if you already didn’t have enough battle scars.” she murmurs, before retracting her hand. “Why did they give you that exam now anyway? Or is it classified?”

It _ is_, something Kakashi couldn’t stress enough times. But Sasuke doesn’t really care about Kakashi, and Sakura’s tent has a strong barrier placed around it to ensure that no one outside can hear anything they’re saying. Patient confidentiality or something. He can get away with telling her a secret. It’s Sakura, anyway. She won’t blabber something if she knows she needs to keep quiet. Sasuke trusts her.

“It’s a two-week to a month long mission.” He says, after he’s finished telling her about the mission, the reason why he was given that impromptu mock Chuunin Exam.

Sakura whistles. “That’s a really long time.”

Sasuke shrugs. “The prisoners need to know they can trust me, so I need to be there for a while.”

“When do you head out?”

“In four days.”

“I’m surprised they’re letting you go,” Sakura comments. “Even with the argument that it’s because the entire world still sees you as a criminal and so you’re the least suspicious choice.”

“Because I technically still am one or because I’m Konoha’s new jinchuuriki?” Sasuke asks. Though Sasuke’s been reinstated as a Konoha shinobi, Sakura knows as well as he does that it doesn’t mean jackshit until they get the Hokage’s final verdict. Sakura opens her mouth to reply, but Sasuke continues before she can say anything. “It’s a test. They want me to prove my loyalty to them by succeeding in this mission.” And maybe give him the service time he was due but never got, because spending three months in local prison doesn’t really mean anything to them when people like him are either supposed to be executed or imprisoned in places like Taiyou Fortress. “As for the jinchuuriki bit . . . I don’t know. It feels like they care a lot more about my reputation as a missing nin than the fact that I’m their new weapon, especially because the Akatsuki are still after the Kyuubi, but it doesn’t really add up.” Even he can see that it’s illogical, risking one of their biggest trump cards for a mission like this, regardless of the fact that it’s something “only he can do”. Shikaku’s a Nara and one of the smartest men in Konoha. Surely he must know all that.

“Sasuke?” Sakura says, because Sasuke’s been silent for a while.

Sasuke leans back, gazing at the tent’s ceiling thoughtfully. “I’m sure they thought this through.” There’s no way they would let go of the Kyuubi that easily, not when Konoha is in this bad of a state. “I just can’t figure out what.”

Sakura hums. “I mean, Naruto’s gone on missions before even though he was the enemy’s main target. Maybe this is the same thing?”

Not when the only crime Naruto’s ever committed was vandalizing the Hokage Monument and generally being a colossal pain in everyone's ass. “The Kyuubi aside, Naruto’s never posed as a threat to Konoha in any way. They trust him. Village hero, and all that.” Sasuke waves a hand. “Maybe they’re sending me there because it’s a relatively contained site. Then they’ll extract the Kyuubi out of me and seal it in some other sorry bastard.” It’d be an elaborate trap. This mission was made out of rumors, after all, so there’s a chance the entire premise of it might be a total charade to get Sasuke isolated so they can remove the Kyuubi from him. If he somehow goes beserk during the extraction, the only ones that’ll be hurt and killed are other prisoners — criminals — so it’s not much of a loss.

He’d question their methods, why they’d bother going through the whole process of a set-up and all, but it’s probably because there would be some people who would protest Sasuke being sent straight-up to prison, and like Shikaku said, the last thing they want is any more conflict.

It’s a smart move. As expected of a Nara.

“Kakashi-sensei wouldn’t do that.” Sakura says quietly.

“You don’t know that.”

Sakura glares at him. “You don’t either.”

Sasuke meets her gaze. “He’s a Konoha shinobi first, and a teacher second. If push comes to shove, he can let a student die for the betterment of the village. The blood technically won’t be on his hands anyway. It’s the Kyuubi that’ll really kill me.”

“Fuck you.” Sakura punches him hard in the shoulder she just healed. Sasuke winces and rubs at the spot tenderly. “Stop talking about your death so casually. It’s not funny.”

Sasuke shrugs. “It’s just a guess.”

Sakura sighs and runs a hand through her face in exhaustion. “I swear you’re going to be the death of me.”

Sasuke rolls his eyes. “Now who’s joking about death.” he comments. Sakura gives him another glare. “What are you doing afterwards?”

“I’m meeting up with Sai and Ino for dinner.” Sakura replies. “Also, I heard that Tenten and Lee invited you to eat with them at Ichiraku last week. You said no.”

“I don’t like ramen.”

“I know you don’t.” This time, Sakura rolls her eyes. “It’d be nice if you spent some time with them. They are trying, you know.”

“They don’t need to.” Sasuke says. “I’m sure as hell not asking.”

Sakura looks at him with disapproval. “No one is. They’re doing it because they want to. Shove aside your ego for once and try to reciprocate their effort; they haven’t done anything to you. You could use a few more friends anyway.” She pauses. “And if not for that, then for Naruto, at least.”

Sasuke’s hand twitches. “Like I’d ever do shit for that bastard.”

Sakura sighs. “Sai and I are going to see him after dinner.” she says. “Do you wanna come?”

Sakura has asked him this question many times, and he’s always given her a more or less similar answer. Kakashi only brought it up once, less like a question and more like he was seeking confirmation, and he hasn’t mentioned it ever since. “There are things I need to do.” he replies. “Maybe some other time.”

Sakura gives him a long look. “You can’t keep on running away, Sasuke.”

“Why the fuck would I?” He can’t help but snap. 

Still, Sakura doesn’t recoil at his harsh tone; though this time, instead of being exasperated, she bites her lip, like she’s refraining herself from saying something. Somehow, that’s worse. He wishes she’d get angry instead, but that hasn’t happened yet. She’s gotten mad at him for plenty of things in the time they spent together post-Pein’s attack — trivial things, in truth — but never for anything related to their teammate. 

Which is ironic, in Sasuke’s eyes. That’s the one thing where she has every right to be angry at him for.

Sasuke sighs, trying to collect himself. “I’m not running away, Sakura.” he says, standing up.

“Are you sure?” She doesn’t believe him in the slightest.

“Positive.” he grits out. “Have fun with your date.” he says, in a flimsy attempt to end the conversation on a different note. As he starts to walk away, Sakura calls out his name, but he pretends he can’t hear a thing and goes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the sasuke in this fic isnt as angry as he is canonically even tho its post-itachi's death because it didnt make sense for me to make him that irrational when his circumstances afterwards involved him being more surrounded by his peers rather than just himself and the toxicity of the akatsuki and obito (since he returned to konoha) ,, tho hes just as angsty 
> 
> i dont really know how the next chapter is gonna go so it might take longer than usual for it to come out (esp bc my second sem of uni is starting TT___TT), but pls be patient w me hihi and thank you for reading as always :>

**Author's Note:**

> **UPDATE AS OF 2020:** there is now a [carrd](https://softpunks.carrd.co/#jinchuuriki) to supply you with anecdotes, references, and other notes regarding the fic and its worldbuilding if any of you are interested. will be updated as the story goes along. 
> 
> kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! hmu on my [tumblr](https://softpunks.tumblr.com/) or [twt](https://twitter.com/inarizakicks) if you wanna chat :>


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